More people now die on British roads each day than from Covid-19 with the majority of older people fully vaccinated, new data reveals.
Over 10 million people have been vaccinated with both doses, including three-quarters of over 75s in what Boris Johnson has called a “remarkable” feat.
“This is another remarkable milestone in our vaccination programme, which has already saved thousands of lives,” he said.
It means one in five adults have had two doses and almost 33 million people have had their first dose of a vaccine.
On Monday there were four deaths within 28 days of a positive test which is the lowest daily figure since September 7.
In comparison, on average there are around five deaths from road accidents a day, according to figures from the Department of Transport.
Still, it will add to pressure on the government to speed up the easing of restrictions with MPs having accused ministers on Monday of following “dates not data”.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said uptake of the vaccines had been “astonishingly high”, as he urged for people to come forward when offered a dose.
Hancock said that the government was aiming to “stay ahead of the virus” by ramping up plans for booster shots to be ready for the autumn. It comes as fears grow over new variants and plans to put India on a travel red list.
He told MPs: “Our goal is to ensure the vaccine protects against this dreadful disease, whatever it throws at us, to keep us safe and to protect our much-cherished return to normal way of life.”
Covid boosters could become a regular annual event in the future.
Hancock told the Commons: “This virus is diminished but not defeated. Cases, hospitalisations and deaths are back to the levels we saw in September.
“Throughout the crisis we've protected the NHS and there are now 2,186 people in hospital with Covid across the UK, down 94 percent from the peak. And the average number of daily deaths is 25, down 98 per cent.”
He added: “Because of this brighter picture, we've been able to take a step two on our roadmap, and it is brilliant to see the high streets, bustling with life once again."
Pauline Latham, Tory MP for Mid-Derbyshire, was among those politicians urging the government to end restrictions on pubs and restaurants and have indoor service.
She said: “We've been told regularly, that we are following the data, not the dates, but sadly, it seems to be the other way around … in Derbyshire there are huge swathes of villages and towns, that have no Covid whatsoever, and that's repeated over all sorts of areas of the country.”
She continued: "We do need to start getting businesses back to normal. We need to get hospitality businesses fully functioning, and using their indoor spaces."
