THE NHS has today revealed that the vaccine rollout in England will be extended to people over 65.
Hampshire, Nottinghamshire and other parts of the country have already moved down the list and are jabbing the over 65s.
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The move by the NHS means that three million more vulnerable adults will have the opportunity to have the jab – giving them protection from Covid-19.
Nottinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Group is among those that has invited over-65s to receive a vaccine.
It has given 77.7 per cent of over 70s and 89 per cent of over 80s their first jab – some of the lowest in England.
In Shropshire, Coventry and Hampshire some vaccines have already been given to those in their 60s.
Some people in Manchester and London who are over the age of 65 have also started to receive their vaccines.
You can use this interactive map above, which you can see here, to see how many people have been jabbed in your area.
It is colour graded by how many people in their 70s have received their first dose can be used as an indication of how far along the rollout is where you live.
NHS England today said that regions can move on to the next cohort if every effort has been made to contact the over 70s, NHS workers, care home residents and staff and seriously ill adults.
It comes after Health Secretary Matt Hancock earlier this week urged everyone over 70 to contact the NHS if they had not yet received their jab.
He also urged people to encourage their grandparents and elderly relatives to get the vaccine if they had not yet received a dose.
He added: “Vaccines are the way out of this pandemic and, by ensuring you and your loved ones get booked in for a jab, the NHS can give those most at-risk the protection they need as we continue to fight this disease together.”
More than 13.5 million people have now received the first dose of a Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine, as the nation is on course to hit 15 million by mid-February.
Where is the vaccine rollout progressing most?
More than 91 per cent of over 80s in England have received their first dose of a Covid vaccine.
NHS England reveals how many first and second doses have been given to people in each age band for the 42 areas known as sustainability and transformational partnerships (STPs).
You can view the map, and see how many first doses have been given to over 80s in your area, by clicking here.
Gloucestershire had the highest estimated proportion of people aged 80 and over who had received their first vaccine dose, at 98 per cent.
It was followed by Staffordshire & Stoke on Trent (96.5 per cent) and Shropshire & Telford and Wrekin (96.4 per cent).
East London Health & Care Partnership has the lowest number of over 80s with a first dose (73.1 per cent).
London generally has the vaccinated the lowest proportion of over 80s.
Looking at over 70s, a total of 82.9 per cent in England have received their first dose.
You can view the map, and see how many first doses have been given to over 70s in your area, by clicking here.
Broken down into local areas, Derbyshire has reached the most at 92.4 per cent. It has also reached 92.7 per cent of over 80s.
Some 91.7 per cent of over 70s in Somerset have been given a first dose, followed by 90.4 per cent in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
They have given a first dose to a high proportion of over 80s, too, at 96.3 per cent and 91.9 per cent, respectively.
Meanwhile, over 70s in Devon have received the fewest first doses in England, at 72 per cent. But 95 per cent of over 80s have been reached.
Only 76 per cent of over 70s have been given a first jab in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West.
And in Cumbria and the North East, 77.16 per cent of over 70s have received their first dose.
People will be invited for their second dose 12 weeks after their first, and given the rollout only began in December, very few people have been eligible.
So far, less than one per cent of people over the age of 80 have received their second dose of a Covid vaccine – which is vital in order to have optimal protection against the disease.
You can see how many second doses have been given to over 80s in your area by clicking here.
However, the data shows more than one in five people (23 per cent) over 80 in Northamptonshire have received the second Covid vaccine dose.
This is compared with just 0.12 per cent in nearby Nottinghamshire, 1.8 per cent Herefordshire and Worcestershire and 3.42 per cent in Lincolnshire.
Other areas that are giving second doses at a fast speed are Hertfordshire and West Essex (19 per cent) and Birmingham and Solihull (18.9 per cent).
Tiny proportions of over 70 year olds have received a second dose.
The variation in the vaccine programmes in each area comes down to how many people accepted their jab offer.
Some areas may also be prioritising finishing the over 80s first, while others have started vaccinating those in their 70s before they have finished the most elderly, depending on how good supplies are.
This online calculator can give a rough idea of when you will get your first and second dose of the jab.
Research shows the vaccine is doing its job of preventing people dying of Covid in a huge moral boost for Britain.
Researchers from the Covid-19 Actuaries Response Group modelled the effect of the vaccine rollout as it progresses.
Graphs show that up until February 12, deaths have reduced by around 10 per cent in the top four vaccine priority groups – including the over 70s, care home residents and most clinically vulnerable.
Once the top four priority groups have received their vaccine, a target set to be smashed by Monday, deaths could fall by a staggering 85 per cent six weeks later.
It takes at least three weeks after a vaccine dose for the immune system to build up antibodies that fight the virus.
One dose has shown a substantial level of protection – however, experts stress this does not grant those jabbed the freedoms to take of their face masks and hug their relatives. People still need their second dose for optimal protection.
John Roberts, an insurance consultant and fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, London, who was co-author of the research, told The Sun: "Lockdown is bringing numbers down pretty quickly anyway, so most of the fall we are currently seeing is due to that, not the vaccination.
"Excluding any impact of lockdown, just vaccinating people should result in a 60 per cent reduction in deaths by the end of February, but only a 50 per cent reduction in admissions and 10 per cent reduction in ICU.
"By the end of March those will be 85 per cent, 75 per cent, and 50 per cent, respectively."
He explained that the deaths will suddenly start to drop at a quicker pace because the daily vaccination rate also jumped up significantly from January onwards.
It will take longer for hospital inpatients to come down because people of all ages – including in their 30s, 40s, and 50s – are admitted for Covid, and they have not started receiving their first vaccine doses.
Deaths, on the other hand, almost always occur in the top priority vaccine groups.
The findings published in the journal Anaesthesia reveal that once all those in the top nine priority groups are vaccinated – all those over the age of 50 – deaths could be cut by almost 100 per cent.
Hospital and intensive care admissions will fall by more than 80 per cent.
This could come as early as late spring, as the researchers predicted the over 50s could be mostly immunised by the end of March, with immunity building up by April.
But the researchers, including Professor Tim Cook, an intensive care doctor and University of Bristol, said: “The distribution of ICU admissions towards younger individuals means that the benefit will lag general hospital admissions by around a month.”
And this delay should be used to reflect lifting lockdown, they said, given the huge pressure the NHS is facing.
Although clinical trials proved the vaccines can prevent serious disease and death, real life data will prove the most important factor when deciding if lockdown should be lifted.
Promising figures have come from Israel – which is speeding ahead in its vaccine rollout – where cases in the over 60s have fallen by more than half, and severe illness by almost a third.
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