No10 was today urged to expand the rollout of Covid vaccines to include all over-50s as soon as there are enough supplies to avoid bottlenecks as the country moves through the priority list.
NHS England’s vaccine drive moved into its second phase yesterday, with over-65s and at-risk adults now being invited to get jabs.
But people under that age threshold – including British reality show host Nadia Essex, 39, who has no health issues, and 56-year-old US singer, Courtney Love – have already been offered vaccines in some parts of the nation.
NHS bosses say local health teams can make their own way down the list of nine priority groups, so long as they have attempted to reach everyone in a group before moving on.
But areas that are further ahead in vaccinating their elderly populations are more quickly making their way through younger people, while willing people of the same age are left waiting longer in areas that are struggling more to reach older residents.
Critics suggest that opening up the scheme so anyone in a priority group can get a vaccine as soon as they want one could avoid low uptake in certain groups holding back others.
Dr Simon Clarke, a microbiologist at the University of Reading, said ‘it would make sense’ to roll out jabs to people in their 50s and 60s as soon as supplies allow.
Think-tanks said officials needed to be more ambitious about the speed and not get stuck on particulars, saying it was ‘false economy’ to slow down some groups or clinics to help others catch up.
There are signs the UK’s coronavirus vaccine roll-out may be slowing after fewer than 280,000 doses were administered yesterday
Ministers have pledged to dish out jabs to all 32million Britons in the top nine groups by April.
But they will have to start dishing out second doses within weeks, making it essential to keep up the pace and get as many first jabs done before that begins to eat into supplies.
At the current pace of 434,301 people per day, it will take until March 26 to give a first dose to 32million people.
But the speed has slowed over the past fortnight amid claims that the ‘rigid’ priority list was hampering delivery.
NHS England boss Sir Simon Stevens yesterday vowed to double the number of jabs being given in order for the Government to hit that target. It could see up to 1million doses dished out each day.
He cautioned that the national vaccination campaign consisted of ‘two sprints and a marathon, (and) we’ve just come to the end of the first sprint’.
Some over-60s have already began being given the jab in areas across the country, with areas of Manchester and London handing out doses to the next age bracket.
Wales began inviting over-50s, while Northern Ireland started offering appointments to over-65s in January.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon yesterday said 53 per cent of 65-69 year-olds have already received their first dose of vaccine.
The Adam Smith Institute think-tank urged areas of the country already ahead of the curve to open up the programme to over-50s now.
A spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘Each person jabbed represents a life that won’t be lost to this terrible disease.
‘We should be trying to ensure jabs reach as many people as possible as quickly as possible.
‘If some areas have steamed ahead they should to continue apace, opening up to the over-50s and other cohorts.
‘Areas that fall behind should be looking at best practice at home and abroad to increase the vaccination rate, including ringing down lists, using online bookings and social media to reach out if spare doses are available towards the end of the day, targeted outreach to hard to reach demographics.
‘Slowing down some parts in the hope others speed up is a false economy and it’s one with a high cost in terms of lives potentially saved and taxpayers borrowing to keep the companies going while the economy is closed.’
And experts have urged No10 to be more ambitious in the roll-out’s second phase in order to open up the economy.
Dr Simon Clarke said: ‘I would say it’s vital that, as long as the bottlenecks in other areas are not due to lack of vaccine doses, it would make sense to roll out vaccination to over-50s.
‘There is no sense in not vaccinating people in one area just because there at logistical problems in others. But it’s vital that people who may be higher up the priority list because of need are not denied a vaccine because it’s been sent elsewhere.’
The Institute of Economic Affairs think tank told MailOnline: ‘It appears the Government is being insufficiently ambitious in terms of the next phase of vaccine rollout. It appears the aim of offering a first dose to all over-50s by May is relatively modest.
‘The pandemic is costing £6billion per week by some estimates, GDP fell by 9.9 per cent in 2020, and the public finances in a dire state.
‘The unemployment rate is currently 5 per cent – but with the furlough scheme still in place we don’t know the full impact of Covid on our labour market.
‘Further, the third lockdown and prolonged uncertainty over the easing of restrictions may deliver a coup de grace to those businesses which were hanging on by a thread after the first two shutdowns.
‘The best strategy is to get foot to the floor on our vaccination programme – and we should begin to question, once the vulnerable groups have been received their jab, when might be the right time to gear up the private sector.’
It comes after it was claimed today that the third phase of the rollout after over-50s have been vaccinated is likely to target people by their ethnicity as well as their age.
Previously, teachers and other key workers were expected to be next in line behind over-50s.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation met today and is expected to recommend continuing the age-based approach because prioritising people based on jobs would be ‘too complicated’.
The JCVI will also urge ministers to prioritise some ethnic minority groups, who are at a disproportionate risk of dying from Covid.
Members are said to be particularly concerned about mortality rates among South Asians, who studies have shown are twice as likely to succumb to the virus as their white peers.
A source told the Daily Telegraph: ‘One of the main factors behind the success of the rollout so far has been the simplicity of the prioritisation rules because it has been based largely on age.
‘Once you make things more complicated, you run the risk of slowing things down.
‘You create more telephone calls for surgeries to make, while people are bashing on the door demanding a vaccine because they think it’s their turn.’
Official figures suggest that more than 2million Brits in the top four priority groups have still yet to be vaccinated, despite ministers saying they have all been offered a jab.
NHS England statistics, which go up to February 7, show Somerset had given at least one dose to 93.4 per cent of all of its over-70s