Covid-19 vaccine rollout hits record high as 660,276 jabs are administered in single day before supply squeeze

The UK’s Covid vaccine rollout has hit a record high with more people receiving the jab in a single day than ever before.

Officials announced on Friday that another 660,276 first and second doses have been administered in the latest 24-hour period.

The previous high was 609,010 vaccines doses, recorded in January.

The UK is enjoying a surge in vaccine supply before a squeeze in imports is set to slow down progress in April.

Today’s record brings the total number of first doses of the coronavirus vaccinations in the UK to 26,263,732, with 2,011,070 second doses.

It comes on the day that Boris Johnson received his first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, telling reporters outside St Thomas’ Hospital he “didn’t feel a thing” as he urged everyone to get it.

Another famous to receive their vaccine on Friday was the singer Sinitta, 52, who said she was “relieved” after getting the first dose from a doctor in Fulham.

Meanwhile, several European countries have started inoculating their populations again with the AstraZeneca vaccine in light of new assurances on the jab’s safety.

Mr Johnson’s vaccination comes after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said the AstraZeneca vaccine was “safe and effective” and its benefits in preventing Covid-19 hospital admission and death greatly outweighed potential risks.

The EMA has, however, been unable to say definitively that the jab is not linked to “extremely rare” blood clots on the brain, of which there have been 18 reports among millions of people vaccinated.

The World Health Organisation and the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have said that the jab is safe and have encouraged people to take up their vaccine appointments.

Mr Johnson, 56, told a Downing Street press conference on Thursday: “The Oxford jab is safe and the Pfizer jab is safe.

“The thing that isn’t safe is catching Covid, which is why it is so important that we all get our jabs as soon as our turn comes.”

French prime minister Jean Castex received the AstraZeneca vaccine on Friday.

New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that around one in 340 people in private households in England had Covid-19 in the week to March 13, down from around one in 270 the week before.

The current reproduction rate (R) for the UK is 0.6 to 0.9.

Other data shows the UK ended 2020 with one of the highest levels of excess mortality for people aged under 65 among countries in Europe.