People over the age of 80 will be able to start getting the Covid-19 jab at a number of new vaccine centres in Suffolk towards the end of the week.

14 more vaccination sites are opening in Suffolk and north Essex this week, ready for the next stage of the roll-out.

The vaccines, which include both the Pfizer BioNTech and the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab, will be arriving at the centres in the coming days. They will be ready for appointments for the over-80s cohort the following morning.

A spokesman for Suffolk and north east Essex's clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) said most of the over-80s cohort will be given the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine.

Around a quarter of the vaccines which the CCGs receive will be the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab, which will predominantly be given to residents and staff in care homes.

Both vaccines give the same level of protection. However, the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab is easier to deliver for those in care home settings.

The vaccines are arriving at the centres using a staggered system, meaning a number are set to be available on Thursday, Friday and Saturday this week.

Below are the planned dates for when the vaccine should begin to be distributed to the over-80s cohort. However, these could change slightly in the case of last-minute issues.

Ipswich and East Suffolk

  • Constable Country Medical Practice, East Bergholt – Thursday, January 14
  • Debenham Leisure Centre – Thursday, January 14
  • Woodbridge Community Hall – Thursday, January 14
  • Sizewell Sports & Social Club, Leiston – Friday, January 15
  • The Mix, Stowmarket – Friday, January 15
  • Hadleigh Health Centre – Friday, January 15
  • The Grove Medical Centre, Felixstowe – Saturday, January 16
  • Trinity Park Conference Centre, Ipswich – Saturday, January 16
  • Saxmundham Health – Saturday, January 16

West Suffolk

  • Cornard branch of Hardwicke House Surgery (Sudbury) – likely to be Thursday, January 14
  • Lavenham branch of Long Melford Surgery – Thursday, January 14
  • Jubilee Centre, Mildenhall – Thursday, January 14
  • EPICentre, Haverhill – Friday, January 15

North East Essex

  • Fryatt Hospital, Dovercourt, Harwich – Friday, January 15

Prime minister Boris Johnson said he wants the top four priority groups to get the first dose of the jab by the middle of next month.

Top priority are care home residents and staff, with the over-80s and frontline health and social care workers next in line.

As the centres do not currently have enough of the vaccine for all of the over-80s, they will be prioritising those within the cohort who have underlying health conditions and are older.

A CCG spokesman said surgeries will be contacting those eligible for the vaccine, reminding people not to phone the practices directly.

The spokesman said they even had a woman ring up asking if her son, who is on a gap year in Kiev in the Ukraine, can be sent the vaccine.

Only people in the over-80s cohort will be getting the vaccine at this time.