Covid vaccine: More than 20 million Brits receive first vaccine dose - Metro.co.uk

More than 20 million people have now received their first dose of a Covid vaccine (Picture: Getty Images)

More than 20 million people have now had their first dose a Covid vaccine, the Government confirmed today.

Boris Johnson called the announcement ‘a huge national achievement and a testament to the tireless work of NHS staff, volunteers, the Armed Forces and many more’.

He went on: ‘I urge everyone to get the jab when called. Every jab makes a difference in our battle against Covid.’

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi reacted to the news on Twitter, writing: ‘BINGO! One score over 20,000,000 people have had the vaccination (first dose). What an achievement for February 2021. What a team! Proud to be with you on this journey.’

Health Secretary Matt Hancock also marked the achievement with a video of himself celebrating. He said: ‘I’m absolutely delighted that over 20 million people have now been vaccinated across the UK – it’s absolutely fantastic.

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‘I want to thank every single person who’s come forward to get the jab because we know with increasing confidence that the jab protects you, it protects your community and it also is the route out of this for all of us.’

He added: ‘So a great, great well done to the team, thanks to everybody for coming forward. There’s a long way still to go, but we’re making big strides.’

There were 386,948 additional vaccine doses registered in England on Saturday, 371,364 of which were first doses, 27,876 in Scotland and 14,634 in Wales.

Boris Johnson also praised the milestone today (Picture: Metro.co.uk)

The rollout will be further accelerated over the next few weeks (Picture: Getty Images)

Anyone aged between 60 and 63 is now being invited to book their coronavirus jab as the next stage of the vaccination programme in England. More than three in four people aged 65 to 70 have already had their first dose, data shows.

NHS England said the latest batch of letters now mean that everyone in the first seven priority groups has been offered a jab, with people aged between 50 and 60 set to be invited shortly.

This weekend Sir Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, hailed the ‘rapid’ vaccine rollout. He said: ‘Since around four fifths of 65-69 year olds have now been vaccinated, we’re rapidly working our way down the generations, with people ages 60 plus now able to come forward.

‘As expected vaccine supply increases in March, we’re planning for further acceleration as we head towards Easter.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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2021-02-28 14:17:00Z
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