As the UK speeds towards the goal of having 15 million of the most vulnerable people receiving their first dose of the Covid vaccine by 15 February, many in other categories will be waiting for their jab in the hope of seeing life return towards normal.
Over 80% of those over the age of 80 have received at least one dose of the vaccine, as have 66% of those between the age of 75 and 79.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has confirmed that 140 vaccines are given across the country every minute, with over nine million people now having received at least one dose of either the AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccine.
There are 1,400 vaccine sites across the country, including Salisbury Cathedral, meaning over 97% of the population is within 10 miles of a vaccine service.
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Margaret Keenan, 91, of Coventry became the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer vaccine on 8 December 2020.
Brian Pinker, an 82-year-old retired engineer, joined Ms Keenan in the history books by being the first recipient of the Oxford/Astrazeneca vaccine on 4 January 2021.
The Government aims to have delivered vaccines to the top four priority groups - which includes the over-80s, frontline healthcare workers, the clinically extremely vulnerable, and the over 75s - by mid-Feburary, after which point the over 65s and adults who have certain underlying health conditions will move to the front of the queue. For now, the rest of us have little choice but to sit tight and wait our turn.
But if you’re feeling antsy, Omni’s Vaccine Queue Calculator is available to give you an approximate estimate of how long it will be before your number comes up.
The tool asks you to input your age and answer a few basic questions about your health and working conditions in return for a rough idea of your position in line.
It is based on the UK government’s priority list but is otherwise independent and not affiliated with the NHS or the national vaccine rollout programme.
Whatever answer you receive, patience is likely to remain the watchword, with the calculator currently operating on the base assumption that 2.7 million vaccinations will be administered per week.
Covid-19 is clearly far from over, with the UK suffering more than 3.84m cases of the respiratory disease so far and over 107,000 deaths.
The current lockdown restrictions appear to be curbing the peak of the second wave, with a downward trend in cases from the peak of 68 thousand new cases on 8 January alone. Deaths are also trending downwards, but at a slower rate than positive tests.
Health secretary Matt Hancock suggests we can look forward to a “happy and free” summer, but warns of a ‘tough few months between now and then’.
