EVERYONE aged 60 and over across the North East and Yorkshire who has not yet had their first coronavirus vaccine dose will get their invite this week, the NHS has announced.

Almost two million letters will hit doormats across the country from today, Monday, March 1, as the NHS vaccination programme, the biggest in health service history, gains fresh momentum.

They will invite people to make an appointment through the national booking service, for slots in one of dozens of vaccination centres and community pharmacies across the region.

They have been sent after around four in five people aged 65 to 69 took up the offer of a vaccination.

In all, over 2.6 million people in the North East and Yorkshire and more than 17 million people across England, over a third (35 per cent) of the adult population, have now received their vital first dose of the vaccine.

NHS chief executive, Sir Simon Stevens, said: "Since around four fifths of 65-69 year olds have now been vaccinated, we're rapidly working our way down the generations, with people aged 60+ now able to come forward.

“And as expected vaccine supply increases in March, we're planning for further acceleration as we head towards Easter."

Nine in ten people in the top four priority groups have received their first dose.

The minority of those who are eligible but have not yet chosen to come forward are still able to book an appointment, and the NHS is urging them to do so as soon as possible.

Dr Yvette Oade, medical lead for the programme in the region said: “NHS staff and volunteers have done an incredible job delivering vaccines to millions of people across the North East and Yorkshire in such a short time, and I know they will be looking forward to welcoming tens of thousands more over the coming days.

“When you receive your invite, or if you have received one already but not taken up the offer yet, please book as soon as you can so that you can join the millions of people who have already benefited from the safe and effective vaccines we have.”

“If you are not in one of the eligible groups, please continue to wait for us to contact you when it is your turn, and whether you have had your vaccine or not, please continue to follow all the guidance in place to control the virus and save lives.”

The latest invites come after the NHS wrote out to almost 450,000 people aged 64, along with 600,000 who have recently been asked to shield and not yet been vaccinated.

GPs and their teams also continue to invite people of all ages with specified underlying health conditions as well as those they know to be living with a learning disability.

The latest batch of invites arriving this week will mean everyone in the first seven priority groups is now eligible for a vaccine, with people aged between 50 and 60 set to be invited shortly.

Professor Stephen Powis, the NHS’s national medical director, said: “The NHS vaccination programme, the biggest in the health service’s history and fastest in Europe, goes from strength to strength.

“I would like to thank my colleagues across the NHS, along with all the volunteers and others working on the programme, for their hard work which has seen more than 17 million people vaccinated in a matter of weeks.

“I would urge anyone who has been invited to take up the offer – it doesn’t matter when you were invited you can still come forward and protect yourself and others.”

People can use the national booking service to reserve a slot at one of more than NHS Vaccination Centres or almost 200 pharmacy-led services across the country.

The booking service can be accessed at http://www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccination. Those who cannot go online can call 119 free of charge.

NHS teams are visiting those who are housebound and cannot travel to a vaccination service.

Vaccinations are now being administered at more than 1,600 sites across the country, including mosques, museums and rugby grounds, with the distribution of centres meaning 98 per cent of the country lives within ten miles of at least one vaccination service.

Appointments are staggered to allow for social distancing and people are being asked not to turn up early to avoid creating queues.

Everyone will receive a health status check and a pre-vaccination assessment before they receive their dose.

While the vaccine roll out has been hugely successful there has been anger and disappointment among many asthmatics who found out at the last minute that they were not included in group six - despite earlier reassurances that they would be.

People suffering from asthma were originally told they would be in either group four or group six - and many were left angry and dismayed after the last minute discovery that they were no longer on the list. Only those with severe asthma have been included. Others, many of whom need to use steroid inhalers every day, have been told they do not qualify - despite being described as clinically vulnerable and at risk by the NHS.

Last week they were dealt a fresh blow with the recommendation from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation that people should be prioritised by age in phase two of the roll out programme.

In a statement Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation, said: “The decision not to prioritise all people with asthma, who are not already in group four and six, ignores the evidence that they are more at risk of going to hospital with Covid and more at risk from long Covid.

"There are thousands of people with asthma who will rightly feel anxious, angry and ignored by government.

"We have been urging the government to ensure everyone with asthma is prioritised in the next vaccine roll out and more than 18,000 people with asthma have signed our petition in support of this.

"The government must reconsider this decision which is unacceptable and could put people with asthma at risk."