LONDON (UK) – England’s fast rollout of COVID-19 vaccines stopped over 10,000 deaths of people aged 60 and older by the end of March, as per an analysis by Public Health England.
England experienced an increase in infections, hospitalisations and deaths in January. However, the rapid vaccination programme that began on December 8, helped mitigate the effect, according to the study.
Over 15 million doses of vaccine were given to adults aged 60 and over in England by the end of March, preventing an estimated 10,400 deaths, mostly among those aged 80 and over, Public Health England said.
The analysis compared the reported number of deaths up to the March period with the number that would have been expected had vaccines not been delivered at that time.
Close to 127,000 people have died within 28 days of testing positive for COVID-19 in the United Kingdom.
The vaccination campaign accelerated in March. A total of 31.8 million people across the United Kingdom have had at least one dose, while 6.1 million people have had two.