All adults to be vaccinated ‘by June’ as jab programme accelerates
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Every adult in Britain will be offered their first dose of a Covid vaccine by early June, according to reports, as the nation’s largest ever vaccination programme continues to accelerate.
All adults will be offered at least one jab by around 10 June, beating the government’s target of the end of July, according to estimates by research company Airfinity.
By comparison, the EU is forecast to offer a first dose to all adults in the bloc by the first week of August.
More than 23.3m people in the UK have received their first dose of a Covid vaccine so far, including all top four priority groups.
The Prime Minister has set a fresh target to offer a first injection to all over-50s by 15 April.
However, the Telegraph reports that everyone over the age of 40 will likely be offered their first Covid-19 vaccine by Easter Sunday on 4 April, with a “bumper boost” to supplies set for next week.
New doses are expected to more than double in the coming days, allowing the NHS to administer up to a million jabs a day over the next few weeks.
The Moderna vaccine is set to join the jab rollout over the coming weeks, after receiving the green light for emergency use in the UK in January.
Britain has signed orders for 17m doses of the Moderna jab, which is manufactured in Spain and Switzerland. Boris Johnson’s spokesperson said earlier this week that the government “remains confident” that “we’ll use the Moderna vaccine from spring”, despite an escalating row over vaccine supplies with Brussels.
It means that all over-50s are expected to receive an invitation for a jab over the next week — around three weeks ahead of the government’s target.
It comes as coronavirus cases continue to fall across the country. The UK’s R number has now dropped to a best estimate of 0.6 to 0.8 — down from 0.7 to 0.9 a week ago.
The prevalence of coronavirus in England is now the lowest it has been since September, according to latest data from the Office for National Statistics.
Boris Johnson has insisted he will prioritise “data not dates” in plans to lift restrictions after months of lockdown.
Pubs, restaurants, cafes and bars are set to reopen for outdoor service in just one month’s time under the PM’s roadmap for exiting lockdown. All non-essential shops, hair salons, gyms, swimming pools, and indoor sports facilities will also reopen from 12 April at the earliest.
Staycations will be back on the cards from mid-April, when self-catered accommodation will be allowed to resume.
Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford confirmed yesterday that people in England will not be allowed to holiday in Wales when self-catered accommodation reopens at Easter.
International travel will be allowed to resume from 17 May at the earliest, with the government currently reviewing the potential use of vaccine passports.
A final easing of lockdown restrictions has been earmarked for 21 June, providing the vaccine continues to be successful and hospital admissions continue to fall.
Read more: England banned from Easter holidays in Wales