Matt Hancock confirmed over-35s will be able to book their Covid-19 jabs from some point in the coming days.
He told the BBC: “This coming week we’re going to be opening up vaccination to the 35s-and-over across the country because this isn’t just about accelerating the vaccination programme in Bolton, it’s about going as fast as we possibly can nationwide.”
Matt Hancock said it is “quite likely” the Indian variant of Covid-19 will become the dominant variant in the UK.
He told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “I think it’s quite likely this will become the dominant variant. We don’t know exactly how much more transmissible it is but I think it is likely it will become the dominant variant here.
“What that reinforces is the importance of people coming forward for testing and being careful because this isn’t over yet.
“But the good news is because we have increasing confidence that the vaccine works against the variant, the strategy is on track – it’s just the virus has just gained a bit of pace and we’ve therefore all got to be that bit much more careful and cautious.”
Professor Adam Finn, from the University of Bristol and a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), was asked if the JCVI would look again at the recommendation that people under 40 should be offered non-AstraZeneca jabs if it means that it could speed up the rollout.
He told Sky’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday: “Yes absolutely, that’s on the agenda, and if necessary that’s something that could be done.
“When we expressed a preference for non-AstraZeneca vaccines for this age group it was done in a very provisional way on the basis of everything going absolutely right.
“And if the evidence shows that the risk benefit balance for people in their 30s is to be offered that vaccine then absolutely that recommendation will be changed.
“At the moment we don’t think that’s necessary, but it could well become a recommendation in the future.”
