More than one million people in the UK have received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine.
Data published by the health agencies of the four nations shows more than one million people now have full protection against Covid, while two fifths of the population have received a first dose.
Jabs are given 12 weeks apart, with data showing a single dose of both the Oxford and Pfizer vaccine can still give 80% protection against hospital admissions in over 80s.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock today said the UK was ‘heading in the right direction’ in its fight against the pandemic.
Speaking at a Downing Street press conference he confirmed the UK was on track to meet its target of vaccinating everyone over 18 by the end of July
The Health Secretary said deaths have dropped by a third and that last week, hospital admissions fell by the fastest rate than at any other point during the Covid crisis.
He credited the effective vaccine roll out, revealing that as of midnight last night 21.3 million people have had one dose of the vaccine, which is two fifths of the entire adult population of the UK.
‘We’re on course to hit our target of offering a first dose to everyone who is over 50 or part of an at-risk group by the 15th of April and all adults by the end of July,’ he said.
‘The vaccine rollout has allowed us to set out our roadmap for how we’ll carefully lift some of the restrictions that we’ve all endured for far too long.’
‘My summary is that things are moving in the right direction. These are challenging times but thanks to the vaccine we’re making progress. We’re not there yet, so as we go down the road to recovery it’s vital everybody still plays their part, follows the rules and of course, when the call comes, get your jab.’
The same press conference saw Mr Hancock address the missing case of the Manaus variant that was tracked down today.
The heath secretary said the mystery person – who did not fill out their contact details correctly when they tested positive for Covid – was found to be living in Croydon.
Surge testing will no be deployed to the south London area.
But Mr Hancock said that the person appears to have stayed indoors and there was no sign of any onward transmission.
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