More than three million people have been vaccinated against Covid-19 in England, it has emerged.
A total of 3,514,385 jabs had been administered between December 8 and January 15, according to provisional NHS data, including first and second doses, which is a rise of 324,711 on Friday’s figures.
Of this number, 3,090,058 were the first dose of the vaccine, a rise of 320,894 on Friday’s figures, while 424,327 were the second dose, an increase of 3,817.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said 45 per cent of the over-80s and almost 40 per cent of care home residents have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine.
The figure was announced after it was revealed that a second variant of the disease could have entered the UK from Brazil, but experts said it was unlikely to derail the vaccine rollout.
Professor Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, said there would be lots of new coronavirus variants this year but the current vaccines should protect against the strains circulating in the UK.
He said that new variants were being detected early, and stressed: “If indeed we do need to make new vaccines we will be able to stand those up really quickly.”
More than 3.2 million people have now received a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine in the UK – around double the number compared to last week.
The Government has set a target of vaccinating 15 million of the most vulnerable people in the UK by mid-February.
