People living in Bath and North East Somerset who are eligible for the coronavirus vaccine should wait to be contacted by the NHS, instead of calling their local hospital or GP practice directly.

The advice comes as the NHS starts to deliver the first batch of vaccines for Covid-19, which were officially approved for use by the medicines regulator last week.

First in line for the vaccine will be people aged 80 and over, who are already expected to attend hospital, as well as care home staff and the frontline NHS workers most at-risk.

The rollout of the vaccine is a huge logistical challenge, and comes at a time when the NHS is already managing ongoing coronavirus-related challenges, as well as traditional winter pressures.

Leader of Bath & North East Somerset Council Councillor Dine Romero said: "Local people can show their support for the operation by waiting to be contacted with instructions of how to receive the vaccine, while continuing to observe the current social distancing guidance.

The physical process of giving the vaccine will be a marathon and not a sprint, with vaccinations taking place over the next few months."