MATT Hancock will give a press conference today to announce the next vaccine priority groups.
The Health Secretary will speak this afternoon to confirm ministers will back the scientists when deciding who gets the jabs after the over-50s.
He is set to appear alongside Susan Hopkins from Public Health England and Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van-Tam at the Downing Street briefing.
Britain is currently on target to give all Brits over-50s at least one dose of the vaccine by April 15.
There have been calls for professions such as police officers and teachers to be given the Covid vaccine jab next.
But it’s been reported that the government will continue prioritising people by age, with Brits in their 40s, followed by those in the 30s, and so on.
JAB ORDER
The jab list, determined by the JCVI (Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation), placed the elderly and health and care workers at the top of the list from the start of the rollout in December.
So far, more than 18.6 million Brits have received their first dose of either the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab or the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
And 700,718 people in the UK have had their second dose as well.
On Monday, Boris Johnson pledged that all the UK’s 54 million adults would be offered a jab by July 31.
At a press conference the PM insisted the extraordinarily successful vaccines program would throw a “shield” round the entire population.
Boris vowed: “There is light ahead, leading us to a spring and the summer, which I think will be seasons of hope, looking and feeling incomparably better for us all and from which we will not go back.”
The number of Brits jabbed is 28 per cent of the population, the third highest in the world behind Israel and the UAE.
Yesterday, the numbers who have had at least one dose rose by 448,962 after a slump for several days this week.
Last week, the vaccine roll out moved onto the next phase, with over-65s and younger people with underlying health conditions in England being offered the jab.
Data has suggested that the vaccine rollout is moving at such pace, all over 50s could have their first dose by the end of March.
David Salisbury, former Director of Immunisation for the government, told the BBC today that prioritising Brits in order of age was the fastest way to vaccinate the country.
He told Radio 4’s Today programme: “I’d hate to think vaccine gets wasted because there are not people to match every dose.
“The logical prioritisation is to use age which is so much more demonstrable than saying ‘my job is this or my job is that.
“So whilst I do have a view that some occupations may justify some prioritisation, logistically the straightforward way to do it is through an age-based approach.”
Before the new deadline of April 15 there are nine priority groups that will need to be vaccinated, including clinically extremely vulnerable people.
A BMI of 40 or above and severe asthma now makes patients eligible for a vaccine.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) had already said people with severe and profound learning disabilities are part of group six – all adults aged 16-64 with underlying health conditions.
It meant adults with less severe learning disabilities are not currently prioritised.
Meanwhile, vaccination passports are likely to be introduced by summer in a huge boost for Brits dreaming of a beach holiday abroad this year.
The certificates will enable people to travel in Europe despite the coronavirus pandemic.
NHS England said on February 21 that over two thirds of people aged between 65 and 69 have now had their first dose.
Invitations are now being sent to those aged 64 years old.
At least ten areas of England are speeding ahead to vaccinate all over 50s by March 7, figures suggest.
