People aged 30 and over old can now book their COVID-19 vaccine in England as the rollout opens up to more age groups.

One million more people will now be invited by text over the coming days, leaving only adults aged between 18 and 29 still having to wait.

People aged 39 and under, and pregnant women, will be offered the Pfizer or Moderna COVID vaccine in line with recently updated guidance.

The programme, which is now going down in two-year increments, has gone from 37-year-olds to 30-year-olds in 10 days.

Some areas, where the Indian variant is spreading, have increased the speed of their vaccine rollout over the past two weeks to try to protect people.

Those aged 50 and over, and the clinically vulnerable, are also having their second doses brought forward because of the variant, on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

More than 38 million people have now had their first jab, with more than 23 million having also had their second dose.

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Anyone who is eligible for a jab is being urged to take up the offer at one of the 1,600 locations across the country.

People can click on the link in their offer text and use the NHS’ COVID booking website to get a reservation.

GP and national medical director for primary care Dr Nikki Kanani said: “Getting the vaccine is the single most important step we can take to protect ourselves, our families and our communities against COVID-19 with the jabs saving thousands of lives already and today the biggest and most successful NHS vaccination programme in history is rolling out to everyone in their thirties.”

She said anybody who has been offered a vaccine, no matter when it was offered, should book an appointment.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “Our vaccination programme is moving at such a phenomenal pace and I am delighted that less than six months after Margaret Keenan received the first authorised jab in the world, we are now able to open the offer to everyone in their thirties and over.

“I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has rolled up their sleeves to help us roll out this life-saving jab. The NHS is booking record numbers of appointments and it is fantastic to see the public come forward in such exceptional numbers.”

Text invitations appear as an alert from “NHSvaccine”, with a weblink to the NHS website.

More appointments are added every day and those who cannot go online can call 119 to book.