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Moderna vaccine rolled out in England

Husband and wife Caroline and Mark Nicolls receive an injection of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine administered by nurse Amy Nash, at the Madejski Stadium in Reading, Berkshire - Steve Parsons 
Husband and wife Caroline and Mark Nicolls receive an injection of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine administered by nurse Amy Nash, at the Madejski Stadium in Reading, Berkshire - Steve Parsons

A 28-year-old solicitor has become one of the first people in England to receive the Moderna vaccine as part of the mass vaccination programme.

Emily Sanderson received the jab the Sheffield Arena vaccination centre.

Ms Sanderson, who has an underlying health condition, was due to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine but it was changed to Moderna, the NHS said.

It comes after UK regulators said that people under the age of 30 should be offered an alternative to the AstraZeneca vaccine, saying there was a possible link between the jab and "extremely rare" blood clots.

The NHS has invited people over the age of 45 to book their Covid-19 vaccine appointment.

It signals the start of "Phase 2" of the vaccination programme - which involves offering vaccines to healthy adults aged under 50.

The move comes as it was announced that the Government has met its target of offering the vaccine to all adults over the age of 50.

Martin Pluves from Wokingham receives an injection of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine administered by nurse Paula Bartlett, at the Madejski Stadium in Reading, Berkshire - Steve Parsons 
Martin Pluves from Wokingham receives an injection of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine administered by nurse Paula Bartlett, at the Madejski Stadium in Reading, Berkshire - Steve Parsons

Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters in Downing Street: "It's great that we have managed to achieve the target of getting everyone in the one to nine (priority) groups vaccinated by the deadline, by the timetable - a little bit ahead actually, 32 million people now have got their first dose, which is terrific. "We are going now to the 45-49 group, they are being asked to come forward."

But he warned that, although the numbers of infections, hospital admissions and deaths are down, the reduction "has not been achieved by the vaccination programme" but rather the lockdown.

"Of course the vaccination programme has helped, but the bulk of the work in reducing the disease has been done by the lockdown," he said.

"So, as we unlock, the result will inevitably be that we will see more infection, sadly we will see more hospitalisation and deaths.

"People have just got to understand that."

A vial of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine is prepared at the vaccination centre at the Madejski Stadium in Reading, Berkshire
A vial of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine is prepared at the vaccination centre at the Madejski Stadium in Reading, Berkshire

In England it has been estimated that 19 in 20 of those who have already been offered the jab have taken up the offer.

One vaccination expert said that it was "vitally important" to vaccinate "the last few per cent", or they could get infected and end up in hospital.

Professor Jeremy Brown, from University College London Hospitals and member of the Joint Committee of Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), told the Today programme: "The problem here is that 5-10 per cent have not been vaccinated.

"When the virus re-circulates through the community they could get infected and end up in hospital.

"So it's vitally important that we get that last few per cent."

Until now, the NHS had been focusing on offering vaccines to those deemed to be at highest risk - people over the age of 50, those deemed to be "clinically extremely vulnerable" and health and social care workers.

When its online booking system opened up to include people over the age of 45, the website crashed for many.