One in four adults in England have had Covid vaccine

More than 13 million people have been given their first dose of a Covid vaccine (Picture: EPA)

One in four adults in England have received a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. The Government is aiming to vaccinate around 15 million people in the top four priority groups by mid-February, which includes over 80s and frontline NHS workers. The PM said the country had made ‘great strides’ in the vaccination roll-out, with first doses given to over 13 million people as of Wednesday.

He urged those who are eligible but are yet to have their vaccine to come forward over the next week, ‘not to reach a numerical target’ but to save lives and take a step closer ‘back to normal’. Mr Johnson told a Downing Street Press Conference: ‘With less than a week to go until the target date of Monday 15, there’s no doubt we have made great strides with just over 13 million people now vaccinated in the UK, including one in four adults in England, over 90% of everyone over 75 and over 90% of eligible residents of care homes for the elderly.

‘But that still leaves nearly 2 million people – a population roughly twice the size of Birmingham – that we still hope to reach. And there are people across the country who, for one reason or another, haven’t yet taken up their offer.’ The Prime Minister made a specific appeal to ‘fantastic social care workers that we all rely on to look after our relatives, our parents, our grandparents’.

‘If you haven’t received a letter, please contact your employer and fix it up,’ he said. He said no-one should be more than 10 miles away from a vaccination centre and that people could arrange an appointment online or by calling 119. He added: ‘The reason I make this appeal today for people to come forward in those groups and get vaccinated, is not so we hit some numerical target, but to save lives, prevent serious illness and so the whole country can take another step on the long and hard road back to normality.’ Mr Johnson has promised to unveil a roadmap out of lockdown on February 22. While cases are going down, he said it was too soon to say if this was a result of vaccine efficacy. The Government is hoping that a phased reopening of schools could begin on March 8. There are reports pubs could open in May, when it is hoped all over 50s will be vaccinated, but this has not been confirmed.

 

Source:metro.co.uk/2021/02/10/