LONDON (Reuters) – Britain has hit a COVID-19 vaccination benchmark with more than half of adults having had at least one injection, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Saturday, becoming the world’s largest economy to reach this level of inoculation.
The launch of the vaccine in the UK, which has surpassed the prices of those in the European Union and the United States, means that the country is on the right track to ease the blocking measures and reopen the economy according to its plan, Hancock said.
“The vaccination program is our way out of the pandemic,” Hancock told Sky News on Saturday. Official data showed that 26.9 million received a first dose of vaccine, up from 26.3 million the day before.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who had the AstraZeneca vaccine on Friday, wrote on Twitter, “Let’s continue,” after announcing that half of all adults had a first shot.
However, concerns have also grown about a new wave of infections in continental Europe as cases increase in countries including Germany and France. A government-advised scientist warned on Saturday that holidays abroad were “extremely unlikely” for most Britons this summer because of the risk of importing new variants of COVID-19.
Asked if he was concerned about infection rates in other parts of Europe, Hancock said Britain needed to remain vigilant, but saw no threat to plans to gradually reopen shops, pubs and restaurants from 12 April. “There is no sign that we will not be able to make progress as set out in the roadmap,” Hancock said.
The launch of vaccination in the UK, using the AstraZeneca and Pfizer jabs, is one of the fastest in the world. Israel is at the forefront of the world in terms of the proportion of the population it has vaccinated, followed by the United Arab Emirates, Chile, then the United Kingdom.
By comparison, 23% of the US population received at least one dose of vaccine and less than a tenth of the EU population was vaccinated.
ON THE TRACK FOR OBJECTIVES
The UK government has said it aims to deliver at least one blow to all people over the age of 50 by mid-April and to every adult by the end of July, targets that Hancock said will be met.
Famous landmarks in London, such as Westminister Abbey and the Science Museum, as well as local mosques and football stadiums have hosted vaccination clinics.
The state-run health service also said 2.1 million people, or 4% of the population, received a second dose and nearly 95% of people over the age of 60 were vaccinated.
Meanwhile, the EU is trying to resume its vaccination program after at least 13 countries temporarily suspended the use of AstraZeneca gunfire last week for safety reasons.
The European Medicines Agency has said since then that the benefits of protecting people have outweighed the potential risks of the vaccine, but the damage to the reputation of AstraZeneca could further slow down the launch.
The fight to secure a vaccine has left the UK and the EU at the forefront of vaccine exports. The EU threatened to ban shipments to the UK on Wednesday.
In April, the UK warned that its launch would slow down due to a supply crisis caused by a delayed shipment from India and the need to retest a batch of vaccines.
Reporting by Sarah Young; Edited by Andrew Heavens and David Holmes