Appointments for first doses of the Covid jab at a mass vaccination centre will restart next week after being suspended for more than a month.

The former Saga call centre in Haine Road, Ramsgate, is being used as one of five Kent hubs to innoculate patients from across the county.

But from April 1 people were unable to book their first injection at the sites, which are in Folkestone, Tonbridge, Gravesend, Chatham and Ramsgate, with only scheduled second doses available, due to a national reduction in vaccine supplies.

It meant those trying to book were either unable to get a slot or offered one miles away, in one case as far away as Southampton.

Now, a spokesman for the Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust says from May 10 people will be able to have their first jab at the old Saga site again. The other four Kent centres will also be running first dose appointments.

"We will be offering first dose appointments from this date and more appointments will be made available as supply increases," she said.

"We will be offering all scheduled second doses at our Saga site and people should attend their appointments as planned."

The centre is used by both the Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust - for which people can book slots online - and also GP surgeries in Thanet, which invite patients in for their vaccination.

The GP-led services, run by two of Thanet’s Primary Care Networks - Margate and Mocketts Wood, and Coastal and Rural East Kent - has continued as normal at the site and has been unaffected by the delay in supplies.

The PCNs moved their vaccination roll-out to Saga on March 15 due to better parking facilities and access.

The district’s third PCN, Ramsgate, continues to offer its jabs at the Montefiore Medical Centre.

In Thanet, some 76,341 people have now had their Covid jab, amounting to 69% of the population.

Across Kent, only Folkestone and Hythe has seen a higher proportion innoculated, with 70% now vaccinated, although it has a smaller population than Thanet.

People over 40 are now beginning to receive letters or national texts inviting them to book an appointment for their first jab.

Read more: All the latest news from Thanet