How to book up for your Covid jab as 21 and 22-year-olds get call to get their jab in the final phase of the first dose roll-out

People aged 21 and 2 are being invited to book up for their Covid-19 vaccination.

Appointments can be booked from today, Wednesday, June 16, as the biggest and fastest vaccination programme in NHS history continues its roll out.

Around 972,000 more people are now eligible for the jab via nhs.uk after the site updated at 7am.

Texts will be sent to people aged 21 and 22 today, inviting them to book their appointment, with the final group – 18 to 20 year olds – expected to be invited by the end of the week.

Last week the programme opened to around three million people aged 25 to 29.

Figures released this week show the NHS in England has now delivered over 60 million vaccinations – six months after the programme launched when Margaret Keenan made history and became the first person in the world to be vaccinated with an approved vaccine.

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The news comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a delay to the lifting of lockdown restrictions on Monday (June 14), with the initial date of June 21 being pushed back until July 19.

On the advice of the Government and Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), people aged 50-plus and the clinically vulnerable are having their second doses brought forward due to the Indian variant.

Dr Emily Lawson, lead for the NHS COVID Vaccination Programme, said: “The largest ever NHS vaccination campaign is in the home stretch of the first dose roll-out the vaccine is the most important step you can take to protect yourself, your friends and family so it’s really important everybody in the latest eligible groups books themselves in to get their jab and plays their part in this huge national effort.”

By following a link, people can now book both jabs and choose from Vaccination Centres or pharmacy-led services and some GP-led sites.

Texts will appear from ‘NHSvaccine’, including a web link to reserve an appointment.

People who cannot go online can call the service on 119 instead.

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