THREE in four 65 to 70 year olds have come forward for their vaccination, as letters are set to drop to invite those aged 60 to 63 for their appointment.

Almost two million people aged 60 to 63 will be invited to book a Covid jab with letters beginning to land on doormats today (March 1) explaining how they can make an appointment to get jabbed through the national booking service.

The latest invites come after the NHS wrote out to almost 450,000 people age 64, along with 600,000 who have recently been asked to shield last week.

The latest batch of invites arriving this week will mean everyone in the first seven priority groups will have been offered a jab, with people aged between 50 and 60 set to be invited shortly.

Lancashire and South Cumbria Covid-19 Vaccination Director, Jane Scattergood said: “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 half a million vaccinations given across Lancashire and South Cumbria 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."

Nationally, over 20 million people have received their first jab, with over 500,000 of those having been vaccinated in Lancashire and South Cumbria in the biggest vaccination programme in NHS history.

Sir Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, 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.

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

Vaccine Minister Nadhim Zahawi said: “Our incredible vaccination programme is accelerating, and well over 1 in 3 people across the UK have now received their first jab.

“We are now inviting those aged 60 to 63 to receive their vaccines and I urge everybody to come forward as quickly as possible to protect yourself and others from this terrible virus.

“Thank you to everyone on the frontline, including NHS vaccinators, GPs, pharmacists, and volunteers, whose unrivaled dedicated to protect the most vulnerable should be applauded.”