Whitehall sources have said the target of vaccinating all priority groups by mid-February may prove difficult. It is partly due to Pfizer upgrading their Belgian vaccine production facility, which will lead to a temporary reduction in deliveries, they said.
They told The Telegraph scheduled deliveries of 2.8 million doses of coronavirus vaccines could be cut to around 2.3 million, adding that the rollout ahead looked “tight and lumpy”.
It follows the Friday announcement by Prime Minister Boris Johnson that more than 400,000 people were vaccinated across the UK on Thursday – a new daily record.
He told a press conference: “Our immunisation programme continues at an unprecedented rate.
“5.4 million people across the UK have now received their first dose of the vaccine and over the last 24 hours we can report a record 400,000 vaccinations.
“In England, one in 10 of all adults have received their first dose, including 71 per cent of over-80s and two-thirds of elderly care home residents.”
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NHS data shows 5,100,475 doses of coronavirus vaccines have been given to people in England, with 4,661,293 being the first dose.
It comes after vaccine supplies sent to the North East and Yorkshire have been rationed after deliveries redirected to other regions.
The Health Service Journal reported deliveries to GP practices in the area will be halved from 200,000 doses to 100,000 next week.
