Nigella Lawson, 61, says her ‘head is in a spin’ after being called for Covid jab – as over 60s in some regions have ALREADY had vaccine despite being in the next phase of national roll-out
- TV chef Nigella Lawson said her ‘head is in a spin’ at being called for vaccine
- The 61-year-old Londoner is meant to be in the next phase of national roll-out
- Data shows disparity across different parts of UK in who is being offered a jab
Nigella Lawson has said her ‘head is in a spin’ at being offered the Covid vaccine – ahead of thousands of over-65s elsewhere in the country.
The 61-year-old Londoner revealed she had been sent a text message on Valentine’s Day inviting her in for a jab.
But the news came hours before the government officially started vaccinating over-65s after successfully offering a jab to everyone over 70 years old.
In a post referencing the lyrics to 1980’s Feels Like I’m in Love, the TV chef said: ‘In the words of Kelly Marie, My head is in a spin/ my feet don’t touch the ground…
Nigella Lawson has said her ‘head is in a spin’ at being offered the Covid vaccine – ahead of thousands of over-65s elsewhere in the country
‘I have just had a beautiful text saying the words I really wanted to hear this Valentine’s: it’s from the NHS and they’re calling me in for my first jab!’
Nigella, who is currently on TV with her show Cook, Eat, Repeat, is not the only celebrity to get booked in for their Covid jab this week.
Both Monty Don and Ruth Langsford received their first vaccination yesterday.
In a post referencing the lyrics to 1980’s Feels Like I’m in Love, the TV chef said: ‘In the words of Kelly Marie, My head is in a spin/ my feet don’t touch the ground…’
Nigella is not the only under-60 celebrity to get booked in for their Covid jab, with This Morning’s Ruth Langsford revealing she was vaccinated yesterday
Ruth, the 60-year-old star of This Morning said she was ‘so grateful’ to receive hers, thanking everyone involved in an Instagram update.
Monty Don, who is 65, praised the NHS following an ‘immensely impressive service’.
The news appears to show disparity in the speed at which older people are being offered the vaccine in different places across the country.
Starting from today, over-65s and younger people with underlying health conditions in England will be offered the vaccine as the programme moves down through the priority list. The national guidance has up until now been to focus on the top four priority groups due to uneven coverage around the country.
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 above them.
Wales started inviting over-50s for their jab today. Northern Ireland has been inviting those aged 65 to 69 to book a vaccination at seven regional centres since the end of January.
Scotland expects all over-65s there to have got their first dose by the end of February.
Mr Hancock said uptake of the vaccine so far had been ‘much higher than expected’, with more than 90 per cent of over-70s turning up to their appointments.
The figure was ‘a little bit lower than 90 per cent’ among healthcare staff, he said, and only around two-thirds of social care workers have had the vaccine.
Almost 1.2million letters are due to have landed on the doorsteps of over-65s and the clinically vulnerable over the weekend in England, asking people to log onto the national booking service.
A further 1.2million are due to arrive this week, with those to receive a letter able to choose from more than 100 vaccination hubs or almost 200 pharmacy services.
Last night, Mr Johnson described the country’s rollout – the third best in the world in terms of vaccination rate – as an ‘extraordinary feat’. He also said that the country can go forward ‘with great confidence’.
Ministers are set to discuss plans to allow for shops to re-open, families to be re-united and self-catering staycations to be given the go ahead within weeks if Covid-19 infection rates continue to plummet amid the vaccine rollout.
It has led to growing hope that families will be able to meet outside by Easter as early as next month to allow children to reunite with their grandparents.
The Government will now aim to dish out 32million jabs to all those at risk in just 10 weeks.
After the over-65s and 16-64s with underlying health conditions – two groups which together contain more than 10million people – the Government aims to vaccinate the 55-60s and then the over 50s by the end of April.
The remaining adult population, around 21million people, will then be offered their jabs by autumn.