We have administered a total of 44.4 million vaccines across the UK, helping to cut infection rates and reduce the spread of the virus. We have now vaccinated 3 in 5 adults across our United Kingdom, including 60 per cent of those aged 45-49 and 95 per cent of over-50s in England.
We have offered vaccinations to everyone in the nine highest priority groups – a significant milestone in our vaccination programme. This means more than 33.2 million people have been given the precious protection vaccines provide against COVID-19 and that we can now move forward with completing essential second doses and making progress towards our target of offering all adults a vaccine by the end of July.
Over 11.1 million people have received their second dose, meaning those most vulnerable to the virus now have the best possible protection. 19 out of 20 who have had a first dose have come forward for their second jab, meaning that almost 1 in 5 of all adults have now had a second dose.
Just one COVID vaccine has been shown to cut the risk of infection in all age groups. A new study has shown that people who had been vaccinated with a single dose of either the Oxford-AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines were 65 per cent less likely to get a new COVID infection. These incredibly encouraging results demonstrate the importance of our vaccine programme and we encourage everyone to get their vaccine when offered. For more information, please visit: https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2021-04-23-significant-reductions-covid-19-infections-found-after-single-dose-oxford.
On testing, in the coming weeks residents will find it even easier to access Covid-19 self-testing kits as an additional 14 collection points become operational. In total, 34 Library Collection points will be live across Essex by 4th May, as 14 new sites will join the existing 20 that were launched a month ago. This means that there will now be three sites in each of the 12 districts of Essex. Please see the link for further details: 14 more library collection points announced as over 150,000 Covid-19 tests already distributed
