Covid: England has now handed out 50 million vaccine doses, latest figures show
Matt Hancock says milestone is one of UK’s ‘most important national efforts’
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Your support makes all the difference.More than 50 million Covid-19 vaccination doses have now been given in England as part of the country’s mass inoculation campaign, according to new NHS figures.
NHS England data showed that a total of 50,246,402 Covid-19 vaccinations had taken place in England between 8 December and 21 May, including first and second doses.
The health service said that 31,546,846 of these were first doses, a rise of 192,008 on the previous day, while 18,699,556 were second doses, an increase of 371,460.
Health secretary Matt Hancock described the milestone on Saturday as one of the “most important national efforts” in the UK’s history.
“Today over 50 million Covid-19 vaccines have been delivered in England,” Mr Hancock wrote on Twitter.
“One of the biggest & most important national efforts in our history. Thank you to the whole team who have made this happen.”
It came after the NHS said that people aged 32 and 33 in England would be able to book their first coronavirus jab in the coming days.
People aged 33 will receive texts inviting them to book a vaccination from Saturday, and from Monday people aged 32 will receive a message.
Since eligibility was widened for people under 40 just over a week ago, 2.6 million bookings have been made, according to the health service.
NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said that over half of people aged 35 to 39 had now received their first jab.
“Today, the biggest NHS vaccination programme in history hits another milestone as we pass 50 million life-saving jabs delivered across England,” Sir Simon said.
Earlier this week, the UK government announced that people aged 50 and over and those who are clinically vulnerable would have their second doses brought forward due to concerns about the spread of the so-called Indian variant of Covid-19.
The variant is thought to be more transmissible than the Kent variant that is currently dominant in the UK, with cases rising by more than 2,000 in the space of a week, according to figures from Public Health England.
However, Boris Johnson said on Wednesday that scientists were “increasingly confident” that vaccines work against the variant - although concerns remain over the extent of its increased transmissibility.
Additional reporting by PA
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