Nearly a million jabs administered over two days in the UK as vaccine minister says there is ‘much more to do’

April Roach @aprilroach2824 January 2021

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi has said there is still “much more to do” as he welcomed the latest figures showing more than 6.3 million people have had a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine in the UK.

Saturday was a record day for the country’s vaccination rollout as Government figures showed 491,970 people across the UK received their first dose on Saturday, taking the total to more than 6.3 million on Sunday.

It means nearly a million people have received a jab over the course of two days as 478,248 people received a dose on Friday.

Mr Zahawi urged people to continue to follow the lockdown guidance on Twitter.

He tweeted: “6,353,321 of the most vulnerable and frontline heroes have had the 1st dose. Much more to do. Follow the rules and Stay safe.”

The latest Government data up to January 23 shows of the 6,822,981 jabs given in the UK so far, 6,353,321 were first doses – a rise of 491,970 on the previous day’s figures.

Some 469,660 were second doses, an increase of 1,043 on figures released the previous day.

Based on the latest figures, an average of 393,031 first doses of vaccine would be needed each day in order to meet the Government’s target of 15 million first doses by February 15.

Boris Johnson also took to Twitter to share the news of the Government’s progress on rolling out vaccines.

“Since Monday 2.3 million of you have come forward to be vaccinated when asked to by the NHS,” the Prime Minister said on Twitter.

“This puts the running total at a fantastic 6.3 million doses given right across the United Kingdom.”

Health Secretary Matt Hancock added: “Yesterday, 491,970 vaccines were administered across the UK, taking the total number of first doses to 6,353,321.

“As we accelerate the vaccine roll-out, it’s vital we all stay at home to suppress this virus.

“We will get through this, together.”

According to the latest figures from NHS England, the Midlands has become the first region in England to administer more than one million first doses of coronavirus vaccine.

The data also shows London still lags behind all other regions in terms of the total number of jabs given, having delivered around 641,000 since December 8.

The capital also delivered the lowest number of first doses in the last seven days.

Between January 17 and January 23, 219,350 first doses were administered in London compared to 362,976 in the Midlands.

Coronavirus: The first patient in the UK to receive covid-19 vaccine

Margaret Keenan, 90, is applauded by staff as she returns to her ward after becoming the first person in the United Kingdom to receive the Pfizer/BioNtech covid-19 vaccine
1/11

It comes after Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said on Monday that it was “vital” that vulnerable Londoners be given “life-saving” vaccines as quickly as possible, and that he “fully expected” numbers to increase.

The capital has a lower average age than the rest of the UK, according to data from Trust for London.

Around 3 per cent of London’s population is over 80, compared with 6 per cent in south-west England.

Regional breakdown shows the next highest number of jabs delivered after the Midlands was in the North East and Yorkshire, with 905,794 first doses and 71,725 second doses, making 977,519 in total.

This is followed by the South East, with 881,901 first doses and 76,288 second doses making 958,189 given in total, and the North West, where a total of 829,130 jabs have been administered, including 765,617 first doses and 63,513 second doses.

In the East of England, there have been 734,392 jabs in total, of which 680,812 were first doses and 53,580 second doses.

And in the South West, 632,406 first doses and 53,508 second doses – a total of 685,914 – have been given.

Additional reporting by PA Media.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in