Boris Johnson led a press briefing this evening to provide an update on the latest with coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking from Downing Street, the Prime Minister was joined by chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance.
Mr Johnson said that more than 13 million people have been vaccinated with their first jab so far in the UK - making "great strides" to reach the February 15 target to have the top four at-risk groups inoculated.
The Prime Minister appealed to the public to come forward for their jab, if eligible and haven't already done so, to "help save lives".
Meanwhile, Sir Patrick said the latest figures are trending in the right direction "because people have stuck to the lockdown rules".
The key takeaways from Wednesday's conference are as follows:
Plea to get vaccinated
Boris Johnson urged the remaining eligible individuals who are yet to receive a coronavirus vaccine to come forward for jabs with just a week to go until the Feb 15 target.
Referring to the latest figures on the uptake, he said: "That still leaves nearly two million people, a population roughly twice the size of Birmingham, that we still hope to reach.
“Now is the moment to do it.”
He issued a particular appeal to social care workers who still have not been vaccinated to contact their employer to “fix it up”.
The Prime Minister added: "The reason I make this appeal today for people to come forward in those groups to get vaccinated is not to hit some numerical target but to save lives, prevent serious illness and so the whole country can take another step on the long and hard road back to normality.”
Downward trends
Sir Patrick said the January peak of coronavirus cases is coming down. There is a "good decrease but numbers remain high," he said.
ONS figures support this trend, as well as hospital admissions that are lowering, however they are still above the peak in April.
This has translated into a reduction in Covid deaths, Sir Vallance said, which are below the first peak, but there's "still a long way to go."
"All of the numbers are trending in the right direction because of the effects of the lockdown," Sir Patrick added.
To book a summer holiday or not?
Mr Johnson reiterated that it is "illegal to go on holiday" currently when asked about whether people should be thinking about booking a summer holiday or not.
He highlighted that they will be able to provide more clarity in the week commencing February 22 when the government sets out their 'lockdown road map'.
When probed again, Mr Johnson said: "It's too early to be certain about what we'll be able to do this summer.
“I understand why people want to make plans now but we’re just going to have to be a little bit more patient.”
New variant in Bristol
Sir Patrick said that a new coronavirus variant found in Bristol was being monitored.
“The Bristol variant has got one of the changes that the South African variant has got as well. It is not surprising that it has happened and it will happen elsewhere as well,” he told the conference.
“In getting that variant it does make it slightly more likely to look different to the immune system so we need to watch out for it. We need to keep on top and need to keep testing the vaccine effects in this situation.”
Sir Patrick added that the "key thing" is to get coronavirus case numbers down, in order to lower the chance of further mutations.
