Teachers, police and people with learning disabilities will need to be considered for the next round of Covid-19 vaccinations, the NHS England chief executive has said.

Sir Simon Stevens said: “Our current proposition that once we have offered a vaccination to everyone aged 70 and above, and the clinically extremely vulnerable, then the next group of people would be people in their 60s and 50s, but there will also be a legitimate discussion, in my view, that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation will have to advise on as to whether or not there are certain other groups who should receive that priority.

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“People with learning disabilities and autism, certain key public service workers, teachers, the police, they will have to be factored in that post-15 February prioritisation decision.”

Sir Simon said reducing the number of hospital beds occupied by Covid-19 patients was not “the only consideration” policymakers would take into account when deciding on the vaccination priority list.

“Fundamentally, the most important thing is to get the overall infection rate down. This is not principally about pressure on the NHS - this is principally about reducing the avoidable death rate,” he added.