Half a million jabs were administered in one day (Image: PA)
And in a huge boost for Britain in our fight against COVID-19, NHS data showed a record-breaking 493,013 jabs were administered on Saturday. In total, 6.3 million people have now received their first dose. Some 469,660 have had the two doses that provide close to full protection from the disease.
Three-quarters of people aged over 80 have now received their jabs, it was revealed.
The effort should accelerate today when more than 30 new mass vaccination sites open around the country.
In a tweet last night, the Prime Minister said: “Since Monday 2.3 million of you have come forward to be vaccinated when asked to by the NHS.
“This puts the running total at a fantastic 6.3 million doses given right across the United Kingdom.”
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said: “6.3 million of the most vulnerable and frontline heroes have had the first dose. Much more to do. Follow the rules and stay safe.”
Earlier, Health Secretary Matt Hancock spoke of the “amazing” news that three-quarters of people aged over 80 have received their jabs.
He said: “Because of the increased supply we’ve got compared to most other countries in the world we’ve been able to go faster and protect more people.
“As of this morning, I’ve just had the figures through. Over three-quarters of over-80s have been vaccinated – that’s amazing.
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi (Image: PA)
“I want that rate to keep shooting up and it’s going up at a rate of several percentage points each day.
“I want that to go really high. I think that it will.
“The evidence is that a very high proportion of people want to get the vaccine.
“There was a worry at the start of the vaccination programme there would be a whole load of resistance – we just haven’t seen that. That hasn’t materialised. I think people understand that this is the way out and the way to protect yourself. That side of things is going pretty well.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock (Image: PA)
“We’re over three-quarters done and no sign of any lack of enthusiasm from the remainder.”
Mr Hancock said the speed of the vaccine rollout gave him confidence that his prediction of a “brilliant British summer” will be confirmed.
He added: “I’ve got a high degree of confidence that by then these restrictions will be being lifted or be lifted entirely.
“I said I hope we have a great British summer. This vaccination programme is going well, the rollout is going fast, the early signs are that it is working. The number of cases is starting to come down.
“But there is a long time between now and then. If we’ve learnt anything in 2020, it’s that things change.
“I am grateful to all the NHS staff, volunteers and our armed forces for their continued tireless work to offer life-saving vaccines to the most vulnerable people in our society. I urge every eligible person to book your jab when you get invited. By opening up more vaccination sites we are making it easier for people to get their vaccine.
“Vaccines are the most effective way to protect yourself but a jab doesn’t mean you can drop your guard.
“It takes time to develop protection and we do not yet know if it stops transmission. For now everyone must continue to play their vital role in this fight by staying at home to save lives.”
Mr Hancock also cautioned against expecting lockdown restrictions to be swiftly lifted.
He added: “There is early evidence that the lockdown is starting to bring cases down but we are a long way from being low enough because the case rate was incredibly high and you can see the pressure on the NHS, you can see it every day.
“I am confident in the measures we’ve got in place now – what really matters is that everybody follows them.”
Official figures showed the country is edging towards the grim milestone of 100,000 confirmed Covid deaths.
The Government said a further 610 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for COVID-19 by yesterday, bringing the UK total to 97,939.
Officials said that by yesterday there had been a further 30,004 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK.
It took the total number of cases in the UK to 3,647,463.
Data was also published yesterday by the UK’s statistics agencies for deaths where Covid has been mentioned on the death certificate.
This shows there have now been 114,000 deaths involving Covid in the UK.
NHS staff will today begin giving injections at 33 new vaccination centres at sites including the Blackpool Winter Gardens, a former DIY store and the Black Country Museum, where BBC hit drama Peaky Blinders was filmed.
Vacine timeline (Image: Daily Express)
NHS national medical director Professor Stephen Powis said: “The NHS vaccination programme, the biggest in NHS history, is off to a strong start.
“Staff are working hard to accelerate delivery as more vaccine supplies come on stream, while caring for very large numbers of people who are seriously ill with Covid. I am enormously proud. We are determined to save as many lives as possible by vaccinating the most vulnerable as swiftly as we can along with those who care for them.”
Mr Zahawi said: “I am delighted by the outstanding progress we’re already making in the biggest vaccination programme in UK history.
“These 33 new major vaccine centres will bolster our existing network and enable the NHS to protect as many people as possible in the coming weeks.
“It is important everyone continues to follow the rules by staying at home and maintaining social distancing, even if you have had the vaccine, to save lives.”
The Midlands has become the first region in England to administer more than a million first doses of the vaccine, new figures from the NHS show.
Regional breakdowns show the next highest number delivered was in the North-east and Yorkshire region, with 905,794 first doses and 71,725 second doses, making 977,519 in total.
The data also shows London lags behind all other regions in terms of the total number of jabs given.
The capital has delivered around 641,000 since December 8.
London also delivered the lowest number of first doses in the last seven days, it was said.
Meanwhile, former Tory Cabinet minister Liam Fox will today urge the Prime Minister to use this year’s G7 summit of world leaders in Cornwall to campaign for closer international cooperation to beat the virus.
In an article for the Conservative Home website, he called for internationally agreed standards for measuring Covid deaths to give a better understanding of the epidemic.
Dr Fox wrote: “We must be clear about the reality in which we find ourselves and recognise that the data systems we currently have will be inadequate to deal with the challenges of a global pandemic.
“It is likely that coronavirus is here to stay and that we will have to deal with potential new variants emerging from time to time around the world.
“To have any chance of dealing with this effectively we need to develop international protocols, and this means having standardised recording of data. I have supported the Government in all the lockdown measures they have taken in relation to Covid but in future are we really going to close down the global economy every time a new virus emerges?
“If not, what are the international protocols that we will need to develop as a global community and what are the metrics that we will require to make them work?
“Without proper information how will we be able to determine the case fatality rate?
“The deaths from a disease compared to the total number of people diagnosed in a particular period, which will be one of the key measures that we will have to make in the event of a new outbreak?
“We will also need enforceable global rules around transparency and notification.”
