Covid: Over 25s in Brighton stuck in queues to book jabs

The NHS website appears to have been hit by a glitch with many of the newly eligible 25- to 29-year-olds being told they are “not eligible” for the jab.

Queues reportedly reached almost 11,000 and others received a message stating “you are now in the queue, lots of people are trying to book an appointment” with no indication of how long their wait time would be.

Under 30s in Brighton have been placed in a huge virtual queues to book their Covid-19 vaccine

Shortly before 10am, the NHS website crashed because of the high demand.

It comes after the Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced on Monday that vaccine appointments were being offered to people aged 25 to 29 from this morning.

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A 25-year-old from Hove said she tried to book her appointment at 6.30am this morning, only for the website to tell her she was not yet eligible for the jab.

The NHS website was hit with "technical difficulties" as hundreds rushed to book their vaccine

Others took to social media to voice their grievances at the technical difficulties.

One Twitter user in Brighton wrote: “Spent 90 mins this morning already trying to book the vaccine to be told the system hasn’t updated and wait a few days - shouldn’t have been announced if we can’t book today.”

Another said: “NHS website telling me I’m not eligible to book my vaccine, despite quite clearly meeting the requirements?

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Despite the queues, some people were thrilled to have the opportunity to book their vaccine.

One Twitter user wrote: "I am in the queue to book my vaccine this morning and to say I’m excited is an understatement"

A total of 40,460,576 people in the UK have so far received their first jab, while 27,921,294 second vaccines have been administered.

NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens hailed the announcement as a "watershed moment" and said the health service's vaccination programme was entering the "home straight".