Over 35s to be offered blows in coming days as government urges eligible people to come forward | UK News

Those over 35 will be offered a coronavirus vaccine in the coming days, the health secretary said.

Government urges those eligible for vaccination to present themselves as Indian cases COVID variant widespread in parts of the UK.

“If you’re in one of the qualifying groups, go ahead and take a hit,” Matt hancock told Sky News.

The Health Secretary has confirmed that next week the vaccination program will open to those over 35, as authorities attempt to bring the Indian variant under control in places like Blackburn and Bolton.

Bolton is one of the places where the variant has spread.

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Guidelines could also change on the AstraZeneca jab to help get more people vaccinated.

Professor Adam Finn of the University of Bristol and member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) was asked if the JCVI would reconsider the recommendation that people under the age of 40 be offered alternatives to the Oxford / AZ jab if that means it could speed up the rollout.

“Yes, absolutely, it’s on the agenda, and if necessary, it’s something that could be done,” he said.

“When we expressed a preference for the non-AstraZeneca vaccines for this age group, it was done on a very tentative basis on the basis of everything is perfectly fine.

“And if the evidence shows that the risk / benefit ratio for people in their 30s is to be offered this vaccine, then absolutely that recommendation will be changed.

“At the moment, we don’t think it’s necessary, but it may well become a recommendation in the future.”

Concern grows over the scale of the outbreak of the most virulent Indian strain, but Mr Hancock said new evidence gives a ‘high degree of confidence’ that existing vaccines will work against it and that rehabilitation can go as planned, with no more restrictions to be relaxed on Monday.