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IT loophole lets UK public book vaccine appointments - Evening Standard

LONDON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Members of the British public who are not yet eligible for COVID-19 vaccination have been able to book appointments in state-run facilities to get the vaccine by using a loophole in the booking system, London's Evening Standard reported.

Britain has vaccinated more than 4.6 million people against the disease so far, working through a strict priority list starting with the elderly, vulnerable and frontline workers.

However, people who do not fall into those categories have been able to book appointments at several vaccinations centres by using direct links to the booking system shared through private messaging and social media, the paper reported.

Their investigation found it was possible to book a vaccine appointment for the following day at a centre in east London, along with another appointment for the second dose.

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The booking, which was subsequently cancelled by the newspaper, required only basic personal information to be provided, they said.

The East London NHS Foundation Trust which runs the vaccination centre did not immediately respond to a request for information on when it was made aware of the issue and how widely such links had been used.

The Evening Standard quoted the trust as saying people attending the centre would be required to provide proof they had been personally invited and were eligible.

There was no immediate response from the National Health Service in England. (Reporting by William James; editing by Michael Holden)