LONDON (UK) – Britain health secretary Matt Hancock has informed that with more than half of all adults having had at least one injection, the country has hit a COVID-19 vaccination milestone, making it the world’s first major economy to achieve that level of inoculation. Official data showed 26.9 million had received a first dose of vaccine, up from 26.3 million the previous day.
Hancock also added that Britain’s vaccine roll-out, is far ahead than European Union and the United States, which is also an indicator of the fact that the country will soon ease lockdown measures and re-open the economy. According to Hancock, Britain had to stay vigilant considering the infection rates elsewhere in Europe. “The vaccination programme is our route out of the pandemic,” he said adding that the country plans to gradually re-open shops, pubs and restaurants from April 12.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who had AstraZeneca’s vaccine on Friday, tweeted “Let’s keep going” after the announcement that half of all adults had had a first shot.
Britain’s vaccination roll-out, using the AstraZeneca and Pfizer jabs, is one of the fastest in the world. Israel tops the world in terms of the proportion of its population it has vaccinated, followed by the United Arab Emirates, Chile, then the UK.
Britain’s government has said it is aiming to give at least one shot to everyone aged over 50 by mid-April and to every adult by the end of July.