10m people in UK have now received first dose of Covid vaccine
Ten million people in Britain have now received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, the health secretary has announced, in a major boost for hopes of a return to normality.
Matt Hancock took to Twitter this afternoon to announce the “hugely significant milestone in our national effort against this virus”.
“Every jab makes us all a bit safer — I want to thank everyone playing their part,” he added.
The figure means the UK is well on its way to meet the government’s target of vaccinating the 14.9m most-vulnerable members of the public by mid-February.
Almost 90 per cent of over-80s and half of people in their 70s have now received their first dose of the jab.
The health secretary yesterday announced that the UK has secured an extra 40m doses of the Valneva vaccine being produced in Scotland, taking the total number of doses of different vaccines ordered to 440m.
In December, Britain became the first country in the world to start administering coronavirus vaccines, after 90-year-old Margaret Keenan received the first dose outside of a medical trial.
The UK’s speedy rollout of the jab means more than 17 per cent of the nation’s adult population have now received a first dose of either the Astrazeneca or Pfizer jabs.
Nadhim Zahawi, the UK’s vaccine deployment minister, said the government is now on track to vaccinate all over-18s by the second half of the year, after the PM pledged a return of the “great British summer”.
Global vaccine race
The UK now comfortably leads Europe in the global vaccine race, and sits third in the world behind Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
So far, the nation’s largest ever vaccination programme has seen just two out of eight vaccines ordered by the government rolled out — the Astrazeneca/Oxford University and Pfizer/Biontech jabs.
However, Britain’s accelerated vaccine programme has drawn consternation from neighbouring European countries over an ongoing dispute with the EU’s vaccine supply.
The EU has remained sluggish in its immunisation programme, with just three per cent of people across the bloc vaccinated so far.
France’s Europe minister, Clément Beaune, yesterday accused Britain of taking “a lot of risks” in its rapid rollout of jabs. Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Britain had compromised “safety and efficacy” to quickly immunise its population.
But the Prime Minister’s official spokesman rejected criticisms from the continent yesterday, insisting the government had followed the advice of the UK’s independent medical regulator.
“The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has deemed the vaccines to be safe and effective and we have rolled them out to people on the basis of those who are the most vulnerable and those who are most likely to be hospitalised and sadly die as a result of the virus,” he said.
“No corners were cut, no stones were left unturned.”