Matt Hancock announces trial of coronavirus booster vaccines
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The UK is fast moving through the JCVI levels for vaccinations, with some of the youngest adults in the UK now eligible for a coronavirus vaccine. The UK’s vaccination programme has been a remarkable success so far, with unprecedented numbers taking up the offer of a vaccine, much higher than many experts predicted.
More than seven in 10 British adults have had their first coronavirus vaccine, the Department of Health and Social Care has announced.
The UK has administered 57.8 million vaccines, including 36.9 million people with their first dose – or 70.2 percent of the adult population.
Meanwhile, almost two-fifths – or 39.6 percent – have had both doses.
Health secretary Matt Hancock said: “Vaccines are turning the tide against this pandemic and I’m incredibly proud the UK has one of the highest uptake rates in the world, with 90 percent of people saying that they have had or will have the jab.
“Strong evidence shows the vaccines protect you and your loved ones from serious illness, lyrica music and they also reduce transmission, which is why we’ve introduced additional surge measures in the areas with rising cases of the variant first identified in India.
“Thank you to everybody who has come forward so far – we can beat this virus together if we all play our part and get the jab as soon as we’re eligible.”
However, the Indian variant, which is now expected to become the dominant strain, is pushing up numbers in the worst affected areas.
Mr Johnson said at Prime Minister’s questions this week: “We’ve looked at the data again this morning and I can tell the House we have increasing confidence that vaccines are effective against all variants, including the Indian variant.”
Almost 3,000 cases of the Indian variant have been identified throughout the UK – up from the 2,323 on Monday – and surge testing has been announced in a number of areas in a bid to control its spread.
England’s deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam said the jab-rate over the next few weeks would be crucial for ensuring the Prime Minister could lift all Covid restrictions on June 21 as planned.
Professor Van-Tam said: “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.”
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Who can book their Covid-19 vaccine now?
In England, all those aged 34 and over are now eligible to book their vaccine, including those who will turn 34 before July 1, 2021.
In Scotland, those aged 30 and over are currently being offered their coronavirus vaccine.
In badly affected areas of Glasgow, all over 18s are currently eligible to book a vaccine slot.
In Wales, all over 30s can now come forward for their first vaccination dose.
In Cardiff and some other areas, all over 18s are now eligible to book a vaccine appointment.
In Northern Ireland, vaccines are now available for those aged over 25.
If you’ve had a positive coronavirus test, you should wait four weeks from the date you had the test before you book an appointment.
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