Matt Hancock today confirmed the UK will have a booster vaccination programme later this year as he announced 10million people have now had second doses.
The Health Secretary hailed the ‘terrific milestone’ today after another 221,193 people got their booster jabs on Sunday, taking the total to 10,152,039.
It means almost one in five adults in Britain have the best available protection against Covid, with almost all of the country’s most vulnerable people now covered.
A total of 32.8million people have had their first dose of a vaccine, meaning well over half of the adult population have at least some protection.
Experts estimate the jabs have already saved 10,000 people’s lives while the country’s three-month lockdown brought down case rates and hospital admissions.
Mr Hancock said uptake of the jab so far has been ‘astonishingly high’ and that the country remains on track to offer a first jab to all adults by the end of July. It also remains on track, he said, to come out of lockdown in June.
He said new variants of the virus were the biggest threat to Britain’s newfound security. The booster rollout, expected to come in the autumn, will offer people a third jab that tackles strains like the South African one which may weaken the original vaccines.
Everyone over the age of 50 has been offered a vaccine already, with the NHS now targeting those in their late 40s for the limited supply of first doses available this month.
Supply problems and a huge surge in demand for boosters means that the number of first-timers coming forward is a fraction of what it was in March, but the rollout is still reaching almost half a million people every day, most of them for second doses.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said today that vaccine uptake so far has been ‘astonishingly high’ and that Britain remains on target to offer a jab to all adults by the end of July
Another 221,193 people got their booster jabs on Sunday, taking the total to 10,152,039. A total of 32.8million people have had their first dose of a vaccine
People getting their second vaccine doses now are mostly those who got their first in mid-to-late January – people aged 70 or above and others in the high risk groups.
Mr Hancock said in Parliament that three quarters of over-75s have had a vaccine as well as four fifths of over-80s.
He said the Government is ‘ramping up plans for a booster shot to make sure our vaccines stay ahead of the virus’.
AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna are known to already be working on updated vaccines that are tweaked so they can tackle mutated variants.
All the current jabs are based on the original version of the virus but newer variants look different and therefore require slightly different-shaped immune cells. The current jabs still work but are less effective against these strains.
Mr Hancock said: ‘We’ve already procured enough vaccine doses to begin the booster shots later this year.
‘We will be working with our current vaccine suppliers and new suppliers, like the CureVac partnership, to work out which vaccines will be effective as a booster shot and to design new vaccines specifically targeted at the variants of concern – like the variant first found in South Africa.
‘Our goal is to ensure the vaccine protects against this dreadful disease, whatever it throws at us, to keep us safe and to protect our much-cherished return to normal way of life.’
It is not yet clear when the second rollout will take place, nor whether it will include all adults or just those in the clinically vulnerable groups.
Praising the current programme, Mr Hancock said the NHS had given out record numbers of second doses on Friday and Saturday, with a combined 999,000.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said today: ‘Vaccines offer us the best possible protection from the virus, so it is fantastic that 10million people have now received their second dose.
‘This is another remarkable milestone in our vaccination programme, which has already saved thousands of lives.
‘I want to thank the brilliant staff and volunteers involved in the rollout, and urge all those who are called to keep coming forward.’
Matt Hancock added: ‘This is another terrific milestone, meaning over ten million people who are the most vulnerable to COVID in the UK now have double protection from this awful virus.
‘Second doses are crucial to maximising the strength and duration of your protection from Covid-19 and I’m urging everybody eligible to get their jab as soon as possible.
‘This milestone is thanks to the dedication and tireless efforts of our NHS workers, volunteers, civil servants and everybody working on the frontline to save lives and stop this virus in its tracks.’
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said everyone coming forward for their second dose was ‘crucial’ to make sure their protection from the disease is long-lasting (Pictured: A man gets vaccinated in Reading)
Sir Simon Stevens, NHS chief executive, said: ‘This is another significant milestone and major achievement for the NHS vaccination programme, the biggest in the health service’s history and fastest in Europe.
‘Since England’s NHS became the first health service anywhere in the world to administer a Covid-19 vaccine, the programme has gone from strength to strength, with everyone in the top priority groups given the opportunity to get jabbed ahead of target.
‘The success of the NHS vaccination programme is not a happy accident. It is down to careful planning coupled with the sheer hard work and determination of doctors, nurses and countless other staff ably assisted by volunteers and many others.’