PEOPLE at the top of the priority list in Ludlow and south Shropshire have started to be invited for a booster vaccination against Covid-19.

The NHS in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin has started delivering Covid-19 booster vaccinations to people in eligible groups as of this week via appointment only, as the biggest and most successful vaccination programme in health service history progresses to the next stage.

In line with new guidance set out by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, the NHS Vaccination Programme will now invite eligible people, who had their second jab at least six months ago, for their booster dose.

As of Monday, September 20 the National Booking Service (www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccination and 119) went live allowing eligible people to book their Covid-19 booster vaccine appointments in vaccine sites that are on the NBS.

Text messages and letters have started to be sent out to eligible people from and throughout the coming weeks in a phased way.

As this will be phased, people will only be able to book once they are invited. For people that aren’t invited to book on NBS straight away, or where they haven’t been contacted and booked through another service, they will be contacted and able to book in the near future. People do not need to contact the NHS to arrange their booster vaccine, as the NHS will be in touch when they become eligible for the jab.

Boosters help to cope with changes in the virus that can happen and also benefit people where the initial antibody levels against the virus has started to fall. They are prioratised according to risk with the most vulnerable first.