Almost 20.5m Brits have received the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine
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Nearly 20.5m Brits have been given their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, according to official data released by the ONS.
The successful vaccine rollout in the UK, where Brits are offered a first dose and then a second jab 12 weeks later, is translating into a greater share of the population having some protection from the virus.
Official data also showed a further 6,391 cases and 343 deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test. In the last seven days, 53,761 people have tested positive for Covid, down almost 30 per cent from the week before that.
Deaths within 28 days of a positive test were also down 36 per cent compared to the week before.
This week the health secretary announced that a single injection of either the Astrazeneca/Oxford jab or the Pfizer/Biontech vaccine is more than 80 per cent effective in preventing hospitalisation among over-80s.
In the US, Johnson & Johnson has agreed to partner with its long-time competitor, Merck, to produce its single-shot vaccine in a deal that was brokered by the White House. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is the third to be approved for use in the United States, with regulators still withholding approval of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Merck scrapped two coronavirus vaccine candidates in January after vaccine shots failed to produce an immune response in early trials. Merck already produces vaccines for the Ebola virus, HPV, and hepatitis B.