Vaccines: Africa faces 'dire' situation warns Ayoade Alakija
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Seven out of 10 people (70.7 percent) of the adult population has received their Covid vaccine in the UK as of Thursday. More than a third of the population (40.3 percent) has also received their second dose of the vaccine and are therefore fully vaccinated. Due to the ongoing success of the vaccination programme in England, appointments were recently opened up to everyone aged 34 and over.
People are being urged to come forward and get their jabs as soon as they are eligible to do so.
Professor Stephen Powis, national medical director for the NHS in England, said: “The success of the NHS COVID-19 vaccination programme, the biggest in history, is not by accident but down to careful planning and precision by NHS staff who have now delivered 48.5 million doses across England in less than six months.
“Getting the vaccine is the single most important step we can take to protect ourselves, our families and our communities against COVID-19, so when you’re called forward, book your appointment and join the tens of millions who have already been jabbed.”
Health Secretary Matt Hancock also urged people to step forward for their vaccines and said he was “delighted” seven out of 10 adults have already been vaccinated.
Mr Hancock said: “I’m delighted that 70 percent of adults across the country have already been vaccinated with their first dose, and 40 percent with their second.
“We have one of the highest uptake rates in the world but we’ll continue to do everything we can to make sure no one is left behind.
“Please come forward for the jab once you get the offer – it could save your life and protect your loved ones.”
The NHS has also ramped up its vaccine drive in areas affected by the Covid variant first found in India, such as Bolton and Blackburn with Darwen.
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, England’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer, told a Downing Street press conference on Wednesday: “I pitch this personally as a straight race between the transmissibility of this new variant … and vaccine delivery.
“The NHS is doing everything it can to turbo-boost that, and that is the challenge that’s ahead of us in the next two to three to four weeks, to make sure that we outrun the virus through really vigorous pull-through on vaccine delivery.”
Who can get the Covid vaccine now?
Currently, people aged 34 and over are eligible to book their Covid vaccine appointments, as are people who will turn 34 before July 1, 2021.
Other people eligible for the Covid vaccine include people considered clinically vulnerable or clinically extremely vulnerable.
Frontline health and social care workers, people who have a learning disability and carers are also eligible for vaccination presently.
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When will the over-20s get the Covid vaccine?
The Covid vaccine programme is distributing vaccines based on the priority list set out by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).
Based on age, over the coming weeks the vaccination programme will expand so all people over the age of 18 can get a vaccine.
Next week, the programme will reportedly move to allow people aged 30 and over to book their vaccine appointments.
If the vaccine rollout continues at an impressive pace, then people in their 20s could be vaccinated in June.
According to the Telegraph, the vaccine programme could “reach those in their early-20s in the first weeks of next month”.
There are also hopes all people over the age of 18 could be offered a Covid vaccine in June.
Earlier this year, the Government said it hoped to offer all adults a first vaccine dose by the end of July 2021.
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