More than 30 million people in the UK have received their first dose of a vaccine against COVID-19, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced.
Announcing the news in a tweet on Sunday, Mr Hancock said, “This is a phenomenal achievement – thank you to everyone for coming forward.”
30,151,287 people have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in the UK, while 3,527,481 people have also received their second dose.
The UK Government is aiming to offer a first vaccine dose to everyone in the top nine priority groups as set out by the JCVI (including everyone aged 50 or over) by 15 April. The passing of the latest milestone comes as ministers have said that the Moderna coronavirus vaccine is due to arrive in the UK in April.
The UK’s coronavirus vaccination rollout started in December 2020 with just the vaccine developed by Pfizer/BioNTech. Shortly after, the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab started to be used and the Moderna jab, which has already been approved by UK regulators, is set to be the third jab to be used by the NHS in the coming weeks.
There had been concerns of a slow down in the UK’s vaccination programme due to supply issues, however, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said on Sunday morning that the Government is ‘confident’ that everyone will still receive their second vaccine dose within 12 weeks of their first. England’s roadmap out of lockdown also remains on track, with restrictions set to ease further tomorrow through the reintroduction of the ‘Rule of 6’ in outdoor spaces.
