The NHS has been told to prepare for mass Covid vaccinations from 1 December

The NHS has been told to prepare for a major coronavirus vaccination programme to begin on 1 December.

Under plans which will see medical and nursing students as well as retired medics brought in to help, the government wants to reach a vaccination capacity of one million per week.

How will mass vaccinations work?

According to plans, as many as 1,500 GP practices and drive through vaccination centres will open for 12 hours per day, seven days per week, with the capacity to deliver 1,000 jabs per week.

GPs will be paid £12.58 for each vaccine dose they or a practice nurse administers, and many are expecting the workload from the vaccination programme to force them to scale back other treatments.

Who can get the vaccine?

The government’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is tasked with deciding which groups can get the vaccine first, based on who is most vulnerable.

According to their interim guidance, the first two groups to be vaccinated will be care home residents and staff, then people over 80, as well as health and social care workers.