The British government on Saturday declared its vaccination program a “huge achievement” as half of the country’s adult population has been vaccinated against the new coronavirus.
Health Minister Matt Henkock said the largest vaccination campaign in the country’s history, which began in early December, was “making tremendous progress” after a record number of people were vaccinated on Friday.
Among those vaccinated on Friday was Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who received the first AstraZeneca vaccine at the same London hospital he was admitted to almost a year after Covid-19.
Nearly 27 million people have been vaccinated in the UK and, on average, more than 421,000 doses of vaccine are injected per day.
However, the National Health Service (NHS) in a letter to local vaccination centers this week warned that the number of doses would be significantly limited to four weeks from 29 March.
This means that the next phase of vaccination, which will cover a group of people aged 40-50, will have to be postponed until May, the letter said.
The change is due to a reduction in supplies from the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, the Serum Institute of India.
However, the government insists that this will not change its plans to ease the restrictions imposed by the pandemic in the coming months.
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