Covid-19: Jersey bookings for more than 2,000 over 80s for vaccine

More than 2,000 people over 80 have booked to receive a Covid-19 vaccine in Jersey.

Bookings opened on Wednesday - although about 20 bookings were made on Tuesday after the link was shared online.

Home visits for vaccinations, which needed to be booked via phone, led to delays for those calling the Covid-19 helpline, the government said.

The island has received 900 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, with up to 7,000 doses due in January.

It will be administered from 18 January, starting with care home residents not given the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, the government confirmed.

The over 80s booked in for appointments will then be given the vaccine at the dedicated centre at Fort Regent.

Once these are complete, the programme will move to home visits for those unable to attend the centre.

Current plans hope to have 50,000 Jersey residents vaccinated by April - about half of the population.

Jersey currently has 332 cases of coronavirus, down from a peak of more than 1,000 two weeks ago, according to the latest figures.

There have been two more virus-related deaths in the island, taking the total since the pandemic began to 53.