More than three in four of UK adults have now received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, with the campaign estimated to have prevented 60,000 deaths.
A total of 86,780,455 doses have been administered in the UK, with 47,091,889 people (89%) receiving a first dose and 39,688,566 people (75%) receiving both doses, the Government said.
The latest data from Public Health England and Cambridge University shows that around 60,000 deaths, 22 million infections and 66,900 hospitalisations have been prevented by the vaccines, it added.
Health secretary Sajid Javid said the figures were ‘incredible and a testament to the fantastic work of the NHS, volunteers and everyone involved in the rollout’.
And Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was ‘a huge national achievement, which we should all be proud of’.
But he added: ‘It’s so important that those who haven’t been vaccinated come forward as soon as possible to book their jab – to protect themselves, protect their loved ones and allow us all to enjoy our freedoms safely.’
They also confirmed that ‘people will be required to prove they’ve had two jabs to enter nightclubs and other venues where large crowds gather by the end of September’.
Mr Johnson had previously indicated that vaccine passports would be introduced, despite earlier the vaccines minister earlier saying this would not happen in the UK.
NHS England director for primary care Dr Nikki Kanani said: ‘NHS staff have pulled out all the stops to get the lifesaving Covid jab to people as soon as possible and their exceptional hard work rolling out the biggest and fastest vaccination programme in history has meant that three quarters of all adults are now fully vaccinated, including 95% people aged 50 and over in England.
‘Getting the vaccine is the single most important step you can take to protect yourself and others, with hundreds of convenient vaccination sites across the country including pop up clinics in the park and at festivals and walk-in locations too and so if you haven’t already, I would urge you to come forward today and join the tens of millions of people who have already been vaccinated.’
The news comes as all 16-17-year-olds were most recently made eligible for Covid vaccination in the UK, while GPs were instructed to immediately vaccinate 12-15-year-olds identified as especially vulnerable to Covid-19.
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson (should have) said it was ‘a huge national achievement (how my colleagues have got richer, escaped any prosecution and siphoned as much money out of the system while we ignored the science), which we should all be proud of (including the number of deaths I have incurred and my future plan for no plan whatsoever)’.
Dr Nikki Kanani (should have) said: ‘NHS staff have pulled out all the stops (and been buggered by my department, public and media) to get the lifesaving Covid jab to people as soon as possible (for their holidays and nightclub charades) and their exceptional hard work (will not be recompensed nor will they be protected or be looked after moving forward) rolling out the biggest and fastest vaccination programme in history (which is pretty mediocre work considering they haven’t been doing anything else) has meant that three quarters of all adults are now fully vaccinated, including 95% people aged 50 and over in England (which will not be repeated as the pandemic is truly over and most of the NHS workforce is thinking about what their job options are and how to recovery from traumatic stress).’