The UK faced a further 166 Covid deaths on Tuesday.
New figures come as Britain’s Covid infection rate was revealed to be one of the worst in the world in data.
Total deaths in the UK amount to 137,152.
Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have been 161,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
There were a further 33,869 new Covid-19 infections reported on the same day.
Vaccines remain the best way to fight the virus with a total of 94,015,911 Covid jabs given in the UK.
As many as 48,994,530 were first doses, a rise of 37,671 on the previous day.
Some 45,021,381 were second doses, an increase of 29,337.
The new figures come as Health Secretary Sajid Javid outlined his priorities for getting the UK out of the pandemic in his Tory Conference speech.
He told the Conservative Party conference in Manchester: “My priorities are simple: Covid, recovery, reform.
“Covid – getting us, and keeping us, out of the pandemic. Recovery – tackling the huge backlog of appointments it has caused.
“And reform of our health and social care systems for the long-term.”
Mr Javid said the “vaccine wall” has “held firm” so far.
But he noted the NHS waiting list “will get worse before it gets better”.
Mr Javid went on: “No government, no health secretary, no society can accept that. That’s why we have prioritised elective recovery – check-ups, scans, surgeries – with the biggest catch-up fund in the history of the NHS.”
Sajid Javid said 2022 would be a “year of renewal and reform” for the NHS.
He added: “In the past, some governments chose cash, others chose reform. That’s a false choice. You can’t have one without the other.
“So yes, we will continue to prioritise funding for the NHS in the wake of this global pandemic. But I also promise you this: 2022 will be a year of renewal and reform.”
