HUNDREDS of thousands of people will be invited to book a Spring Covid booster jab this week as part of the NHS vaccination programme.

Eligible groups for Spring boosters include care home residents, people who are 75 and over and those who are immunosuppressed aged 12 and over.

In line with new advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, the NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme will contact people when it is their turn to be vaccinated.

Health and Social Care Secretary, Sajid Javid, said: “Following the massive success of the rollout so far, we are now offering over-75s and the most vulnerable a spring booster dose to top up their protection against this virus.

“Please come forward as soon as you are contacted by the NHS.”

Once invited by the NHS, people will be able to book their appointment through the National Booking System either online or by calling NHS 119.

Around 600,000 people will be invited to book this week. In addition, local NHS teams will also offer vaccinations in care homes with hundreds more visits planned in the coming weeks.

In all, around five million people will be able to get a Spring booster dose.

Since the start of the vaccine programme, NHS staff and volunteers have delivered over 118 million vaccinations in total, including 32 million top-up jabs since the booster rollout began in September.