UNDER-65's suffering from underlying health conditions and carers are to be offered the Covid jab as part of the next major phase of Northern Ireland's vaccination programme rollout.
The Department of Health yesterday announced the move which will involve the inoculation of more than 130,000 adults with chronic diseases including asthma, heart disease, epilepsy and stroke.
This same group of people are eligible for the annual winter flu jab.
Letters were issued to GP practices by the Health and Social Care Board (HSCB) yesterday asking them to contact those "at risk" patients between the ages of 18 and 64.
They were also instructed to "actively" prioritise remaining patients who may have been missed from the current 'cohort', which includes the over-70's and Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV).
Carers aged 60-64 in receipt of allowances will receive their jabs at one of the north's seven regional vaccination centres.
Vaccine supplies have been a problem for some of the north's 330 GP practices, given the unprecedented demand among vulnerable groups for the jab.
The HSCB's Dr Margaret O'Brien wrote in her letter to GPs: "I appreciate that the rapid changes in eligible groups for vaccination by GPs and regional centres is challenging. I would like to thank you for your ongoing work to ensure that across the programme as many people are offered the vaccination as possible."
Dr Alan Stout of the British Medical Association (BMA) told The Irish News he was confident that the current group of over-70s and CEV will be vaccinated "within days", with the jab offered to carers and those with chronic diseases next week.
"This next group is one of the biggest who normally get the flu vaccine and is on a chronic disease register. There will be people with asthma who are under the CEV group and will already have received their jab so the next group will pick up everyone else with asthma, with heart disease, and everyone who has had a stroke/TIA and such like," he said.
The department also announced yesterday that any over-70s who have not yet had their first dose from their GP will have the option to book a vaccination appointment at one of the seven regional centres.
To date, more than a quarter of the north's population has received their first jab, with latest figures showing 447,685 vaccines have been administered, of which 418,209 were first doses and 29,476 were second doses.
People are being advised to get their first and second doses from the same provider - and not "mix and match" between GPs and vaccination centres.
Health minister Robin Swann encouraged anyone who is eligible to book a centre slot as soon as possible and said the programme was making "good progress".
"It had been planned to begin vaccinating carers in early March. I am delighted that we are now able to bring this forward, on a staggered basis," he said.
"As ever, the rate of our progress through the eligible groups will depend on available supplies of vaccines."
To make a centre appointment by phone, ring 0300 200 7813. The phone line is open Monday to Friday from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm.
Online centres appointments can be booked at https://covid-19.hscni.net/get-vaccinated
