The first patients in England will receive the new COVID bivalent vaccine early next month, it has been announced.

NHS England said the vaccination programme would begin in care homes and among the housebound. One primary care leader said practices would “continue to deliver” the programme – whilst calling for more resources. Some GP leaders have questioned whether practices can afford to take on extra vaccination.

The programme will begin on 5 September and a more extensive rollout the following week – when invitations will go to over 75s and the most vulnerable. NHS England said it expected vaccines to be provided from 3,000 locations, including practices and pharmacies.

Ruth Rankine, director of primary care at the NHS Confederation, said: “Primary care has played a crucial role in the COVID-19 vaccination programme to date and will continue to deliver to protect their patients and the public. With 26 million general practice appointments taking place in June, primary care teams are already going above and beyond for their local communities and will step up again to deliver this important programme.

“However, we shouldn’t underestimate the additional work involved and must acknowledge the time and investment it will take to deliver alongside the flu vaccination programme. This is as well as meeting increasing demand for services which has felt like winter already and managing patients waiting for secondary care. It is also vital that the Government provides the NHS with the capital investment it desperately needs and a fully resourced workforce plan that resolves chronic staff shortages across our health service.”

NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard said: “The NHS was the first healthcare system in the world to deliver a COIVD-19 vaccine outside of clinical trials and will now be the first to deliver the new, variant-busting vaccine when the rollout begins at the start of September. Our fantastic NHS staff have worked incredibly hard to deliver 126 million doses to date and behind the scenes they have once again been preparing to deliver the latest phase with the same speed and precision as we have had throughout the rollout.”

NHS director for vaccinations and screening Steve Russell said: “We know that our GPs and community pharmacies have been integral to the success of the NHS Vaccination Programme due to their locations and relationships with local communities, and so it is fantastic that so many have opted to be part of the latest phase of the campaign.”