ALMOST half a million jab appointments are up for grabs, as the NHS covid-19 vaccination programme continues over the Easter bank holiday weekend.

NHS staff are gearing up to protect all those who are eligible with vaccines for the whole family available including 5 to 11 year olds, booster jabs for all adults and spring doses for those who are eligible.

So far, 94,000 people have booked in for a jab between Friday and Monday, including 21,000 young people aged 5 to 11.

England’s top doctor has today urged people to book in with 460,000 slots still available at vaccination centres up and down the country. Hundreds of walk-in centres are also open for business and can be found by visiting the walk-in finder.

Appointments can be booked quickly and conveniently on the NHS website and people that can’t go online can book by phoning 119. Local NHS teams are also offering walk in appointments and people can check where their nearest grab a jab site is online.

There are 62,361 appointments available in the North East and Yorkshire region.

Recent research from the UK Health Security Agency showed that the NHS booster programme has helped prevent around 197,000 hospitalisations since mid-December.