More than 25 million people in the UK have now received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, 100 days after the first person in the country received the jab.
“This latest milestone is an incredible achievement - representing 25 million reasons to be confident for the future as we cautiously reopen society,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement.
There were 141 deaths within 28 days of a positive test for coronavirus reported today, with seven of those in London.
The UK death toll now stands at 125,831.
In the last week there were 844 deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test. This shows a decrease of 29.9% compared to the previous 7 days.
5,758 new people had a confirmed positive test result reported today.
The figures came as the PM said he is due to have his Covid-19 vaccine and it will “be Oxford/AstraZeneca”.
In a show of support for the jab, which more than a dozen European countries have stopped using, the Prime Minister told MPs: “I think perhaps the best thing I can say about the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine programme is that I finally got news that I’m going to have my own jab very shortly, I’m pleased to discover…
“It will certainly be Oxford/AstraZeneca that I will be having.”
Meanwhile, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen suggested exports of coronavirus vaccines could be halted to countries with higher vaccination rates.
In what appeared to be a veiled threat to the UK, she told reporters in Brussels: “We are exporting a lot to countries that are themselves producing vaccines and we think this is an invitation to be open, so that we also see exports from those countries coming back to the European Union.
“The second point that is of importance to us: we will reflect on whether exports to countries who have higher vaccination rates than us are still proportionate.”
