In a major milestone, more than 15 million of the most vulnerable Britons have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. The over-70s and the clinically vulnerable have received their second jab, offering maximum immunity from the virus, Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced.
With the UK set to exceed 50 million vaccinations today, ministers and health officials hailed the 'incredibly important' step towards Britain's return to normality. As infection levels and hospital admissions continue to fall, they said it was further evidence that vaccines are 'the way out of the pandemic'.
Boris Johnson thanked everyone who had come forward to get their jabs, tweeting: '15 million people across our United Kingdom have received two doses of a Covid vaccine. Thank you to everyone who has made this possible. Please keep coming forward to get your jabs to give yourself maximum protection from the virus.'
A further 372,304 second jabs were administered on Saturday, bringing the total to 15,329,617, according to Government data. There were also 143,175 first doses, taking the number of initial jabs to 34,505,380 – or a total of 49,834,997 for first and second doses.
Mr Hancock said he was 'delighted' by the news and thanked the 'thousands of people' who gave up their bank holiday to administer vaccines, with more than 500,000 on Saturday alone. He added: 'That's the 15 million people who are most vulnerable to Covid across the country. Reaching this milestone is incredibly important because this helps to keep all those 15 million safe, but it also keeps those around them safe, their loved ones. And, of course, for all of us this is the way out of the pandemic.'
Infection levels continue to fall, with 1,671 testing positive for coronavirus yesterday, down from 1,712 a week ago. Fourteen deaths were recorded yesterday, making a weekly average of 110, down 31 per cent on a week ago. There are 1,451 patients in hospital with the virus, down from a peak of 39,248 in mid January.
