COVID and Flu Vaccines Rolled Out Early Across England Due to New Variant

Vaccine providers will be given 'acceleration' payments for each shot they administer

Brian Pinker, 82, receives the Oxford University/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine from nurse Sam Foster at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford, England, on Jan. 4, 2021. Steve Parsons—WPA Pool/Getty Images

England’s COVID-19 and flu vaccination programme is starting earlier than planned after a new coronavirus variant was detected.

The latest advice following the emergence of a new COVID-19 variant has prompted the acceleration of the NHS’s vaccine rollout.