Over 550,000 top up COVID-19 jabs have been delivered in the Midlands in just four weeks, as the NHS vaccination rollout continues to protect those most at risk from coronavirus.

The NHS kicked off the booster programme on September 16, within two days of updated advice from the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI)

People who received their COVID-19 second dose before 30 April and are over 50 or at risk are eligible now.

Thousands of people have already been invited by text, email and letter encouraging them to book in online through the national booking service. Those eligible can also walk in to their local vaccination centres as long as six months has passed since their second dose of the vaccine. So those who had their second dose before 30 April are now eligible.

Nicola Ensor, Programme Director for the vaccination programme across the Midlands with NHS England and NHS Improvement, said:

“Boosters are continuing to reinforce the wall of defence that vaccines have built across the region and will provide vital protection to millions – it will help keep the virus at bay and will reduce household transmission.

“I urge all those eligible for a top-up dose to get yours as soon as possible to not only protect yourself, but also to keep your loved ones safe from this virus.”

People who are eligible are being invited for their booster shot at least six months on from their second dose, in line with independent expert advice – the number of people who are eligible changes daily as additional people reach six months since their second jab.

Eligible individuals are able to quickly and conveniently book an appointment at www.nhs.uk/book-covid-booster. People that can’t go online can book by phoning 119, or can walk in to a vaccination centre local to them.

Those who are eligible for a booster at least six months after their second dose include:

• those living in residential care homes for older adults
• all adults aged 50 years or over
• frontline health and social care workers
• all those aged 16 to 49 years with underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk of severe COVID-19 (as set out in the green book), and adult carers
• adult household contacts of immunosuppressed individuals.

Earlier this week the NHS encouraged pregnant women to get the COVID-19 vaccine as data showed that nearly 1 in 5 of the most critically ill COVID patients were unvaccinated pregnant women.

The NHS has been vaccinating 16 and 17-year olds with a single dose, with hundreds of thousands coming forward through the NHS ‘grab a jab’ campaign.

NHS staff have also started vaccinating young people aged 12 to 15 at schools after the government accepted the UK Chief Medical Officers’ recommendation to extend the vaccine offer to this age group.