Over-75s to be called for Covid and flu vaccinations from next week – The Telegraph

Over-75s are to be called forward for Covid and flu jabs from next week as the autumn boosters rollout gets under way.

More than four million people will be able to start booking jabs as the national booking service opens to the most vulnerable.

From Monday, care home residents, staff and people and who are housebound will be offered top-up jabs. By Wednesday, millions more elderly people will receive invitations to book a vaccination.

Covid booster jabs are being offered to around 26 million people, including all over-50s, this autumn. For most, it will be their fourth dose.

The vaccines will also be offered to health and care workers and millions of people with chronic health conditions. In most cases, they will be offered alongside flu jabs.

Health officials said the NHS would contact those eligible when it is time to book in, with millions expected to receive invitations this week. A record 3,100 sites are expected to be part of the rollout, including GP practices and community pharmacies.

The Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisation (JCVI) has said Modernas new omicron vaccine will be the default option throughout the autumn campaign.

Moderna estimates that 13 million doses of the vaccine will be available this year, but 26 million people are eligible for some form of Covid booster along with a flu jab.

But health officials have urged those eligible to accept any booster offered, stressing that all types being offered provide excellent protection against severe disease and death.

The rollout comes as data suggests Covid infections in England are about to reach their lowest level since the emergence of omicron last autumn.

One in 60 people in England around 893,000 people are thought to have been infected with the virus for the week ending Aug 23, a prevalence of 1.64 per cent.

This is down more than a quarter from the week before and infections have now been declining for five straight weeks, down an average of 22 per cent week-on-week. At this rate, the level of Covid across the country will drop to just 1.28 per cent next week the lowest level since mid-September 2021.

However, health chiefs said they expect a resurgence of both Covid and flu in the coming weeks.

Amanda Pritchard, the NHS chief executive, said: The best way to protect yourselves and your loved ones from serious illness is to get the newly approved, next generation Covid vaccine when invited to do so, as well as your annual flu jab, to ensure you have maximum protection.

GPs will be paid up to 525 per care home jabbed under new NHS incentives. Previously, family doctors received rates of up to 30 per jab, on top of a basic 13 rate, for vaccinating each care home resident.

The new flat rate will be paid out when all eligible residents have been jabbed. The payments mean GPs can receive 525 for vaccinating more than 150 residents, falling to 150 for a home with fewer than 10 eligible people.

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Over-75s to be called for Covid and flu vaccinations from next week - The Telegraph