When will over 65s get the Covid vaccine? Date group will be vaccinated in England - and how to use vaccine calculator

As the Covid vaccine rollout continues to offer jabs to the country's most vulnerable, many are wondering when the next priority group will start to receive appointments.

The government is currently offering a coronavirus vaccine to priority cohorts 1-4 which includes all the over 70s, clinically extremely vulnerable, frontline health and social care workers, and care home residents and workers.

Prime minister Boris Johnson set a target of the UK reaching 15 million vaccinations by 15 February, with the rollout programme continuing across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

So who will be next on the priority list and when will they receive a jab?

Who will receive a Covid vaccine next?

After the top four groups most at risk of infection from Covid have received a jab, the government will work through the remaining priority tiers.

The next group to receive a vaccine of either the Pfizer / BioNtech or Oxford / AstraZeneca jabs are all those aged 65 years and over.

Approved vaccines will then be offered to adults aged 16-65 in at risk groups, then all those 60 and over, then 55 and over, then 50 and over.

When will over 65s get a Covid vaccine?

Letters inviting people over the age of 65 to have a Covid vaccine are reportedly scheduled to be sent out from Monday 15 February.

It could mean millions more Brits will receive protection from the deadly virus and raise hopes of relaxing lockdown restrictions imposed on 4 January.

PM Johnson is set to announce the 'road map' out of restrictions on the week commencing Monday 22 February, with the aim of getting more kids in the classrooms from Monday 8 March.

How do you use the vaccine calculator?

The phased rollout of the Covid vaccine for all adults over the age of 50 has been released by the UK government.

People curious about finding out when they might receive a Covid jab can get an estimation via a vaccine calculator online developed by Polish start up company Omni.

After a few simple questions, the Omni calculator predicts where you are in the queue to receive a Covid vaccine in the UK based on the government's priority list.

What has the government said about vaccinating over 65s?

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson told the Mirror newspaper that the rollout was running on schedule, in response to reports.

"Thanks to the tireless efforts of NHS staff, volunteers and local authorities we have vaccinated more than 13.5 million people so far," the spokesperson said.

"We are on track to hit our target of offering vaccines to everyone in the top four groups by 15 February and will then move on to the next cohorts."

Has any country started vaccinating over 65s already?

People in Wales over the age of 65 have already started to be contacted and offered a Covid jab, according to First Minister Mark Drakeford.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Well, people in Wales have had them already.

"Because we will have completed the first four groups by this weekend, then, as from Monday, people in the next five groups – that’s people aged over 50 – will already be booked in for their appointments next week.

"So I know that people in those groups will have already been contacted this week by practices, by mass vaccination centres, and those people will be getting their vaccine from Monday onwards."

Many people aged between 65-69 in Scotland are expected to have had their first vaccine by the middle of February, said the country’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

And the same age group has been able to book an appointment to receive a first jab at several regional centres in Northern Ireland since January.