Only three per cent of Brits who were infected with the Indian Covid variant were fully vaccinated, it has been reported.
Matt Hancock said yesterday that the Indian variant was still spreading, with between half and three quarters of new cases now the mutant strain.
The rising figures were reported the day after the Health Secretary told MPs that on Wednesday there were 3,180 new cases of coronavirus, which is "the highest since April 12".
But he said that the link between Covid cases, hospital admissions and deaths is being "severed", in large part due to the vaccination programme.
Earlier it was reported that the variant - B.1.617.2 - had been detected in 151 local authorities in the week ending 15 May.
Now, The Sun reports that a small number of new infections were from those who had been fully vaccinated - received two doses of a Covid jab.
Public Health England data was said to have shown that three per cent of A&E cases with the Indian mutation had received two shots.
This was 177 of the 5,599 cases of the variant.
Over two-thirds of those taken to hospital with the mutation were said to have been unvaccinated.
Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, was reported to have said the latest Public Health England data was grounds for optimism.
He said: “I find the results incredibly reassuring to be honest. We’re not out of the woods yet, but it shows we’ve got the tools to end this.”
Earlier Matt Hancock told MPs "this pandemic isn't over yet", adding: "Our vaccination programme has reached 73 per cent of the adult population, but that means that more than a quarter still haven't been jabbed... 43 per cent of adults have had both jabs, but that means that more than half are yet to get the fullest possible protection that two jabs gives.
On May 25 there were 915 people in hospital with Covid, while there were around 4,500 admissions every day in January.
Since the start of the mass inoculation rollout there have been 38.6million first doses and just over 24million second shots, according to latest figures.
Currently the NHS is offering that anybody aged over 30 can get one of the jabs that protects against coronavirus.
