The Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine is being rolled out to hundreds of GP-run vaccination sites in local communities in England.

The aim is to offer jabs to most care home residents by the end of January, with the government hoping that by mid-February 13 million people in the top four priority groups will have been vaccinated.

More than 700 local vaccination sites will administer the jabs, with another 180 GP-led sites, 100 new hospital sites and a pilot scheme involving local pharmacies due to open this week. In addition to this, from next week, seven major vaccination hubs across England are set to begin operating, including the Excel Centre in London and Millennium Point in Birmingham.

Because it does not need to be stored at ultra-cold temperatures like the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the Oxford jab can be transported and stored more easily, making it simpler to vaccinate housebound people and those in care homes.

Dr Nikki Kanani, GP and NHS medical director for primary care, said: “The biggest vaccination programme in NHS history is already off to a strong start with around one million people already vaccinated against Coronavirus – this is a credit to our exceptional NHS staff.

“GPs, nurses, pharmacists and countless other staff and volunteers have been working around the clock to be able to launch almost 200 more sites this week. Combined with the arrival of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, we will now be able to protect many more vulnerable people against the virus and faster.”