London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025

Covid-19: More than 30m people in UK receive first jab

Covid-19: More than 30m people in UK receive first jab

More than 30m people in the UK have had a first dose of a Covid vaccine, it has been announced, as the government says it is "confident" everyone will receive their second jab within 12 weeks.

Asked about the concerns over supply, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said "we always knew there would be ups and downs" but the timetable was on track.

Data shows more than 3.5m adults have now received their second dose.

Meanwhile, the first Moderna jabs are due to arrive in the UK by late April.

It is the third vaccine of seven that the UK has put in an order for - and the UK is lined up to receive 17 million doses. Like the Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca jabs which are already in use, the Moderna jab is given in two doses several weeks apart.

The latest government figures show 423,852 UK adults received a first dose of either the Pfizer or the Oxford vaccine on Saturday, taking the overall number to 30,151,287 - with 233,964 having their second dose, bringing that total to 3,527,481.

Another 19 deaths of people within 28 days of a positive Covid test were recorded on Sunday, compared to 33 on the same day last week, along with a further 3,862 cases.

Vaccine supply issues have continued to make the rollout bumpy.

Earlier this month, the NHS warned of a significant reduction in jabs available in England in April, and there has been a delay to Oxford-AstraZeneca shipments from India. There are also tensions from the EU over the supply of jabs.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland's First Minister Arlene Foster has said she hopes the UK will give vaccine doses to the Republic of Ireland, in a bid to help stop the spread of infection in Northern Ireland. She said the idea was "very practical" and she would speak to Boris Johnson about it again.

'Slow-down'


Speaking to the BBC's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, Mr Dowden said: "We're on track both with the rollout of the vaccine and the roadmap.

"You will have seen the ups and downs - we were surging ahead a couple of weeks ago, there's been a bit of a slow-down now.

"But that doesn't undermine our confidence that we will be able to deliver for that crucial group, the over-50s, by the middle of April and then for the rest of the adult population by the end of July."


Asked whether there will be enough supply for everyone to get their second dose, Mr Dowden said: "That is absolutely essential and in all our planning throughout this, we have borne in mind that we have to get that second top-up and so we're confident we will be able to deliver it."

He also said the government was confident that vaccination centres could meet the 12-week deadline on second doses without resorting to mixing of vaccines - giving a Oxford jab to someone who had Pfizer first time round or vice versa.

Prof Adam Finn, from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, said the Moderna vaccine was an "extra string to our bow" but shipments would be more limited than of the other two vaccines currently in use.

He said it "adds a further line of supply to enable the vaccine programme to move forward into the under-50s" but with Moderna primarily directing their supplies towards the US, it is not a "game-changer".

Are the vaccinators on track with second doses?


*  As of Friday, more than 3.2 million people have now had their second dose

*  To work out whether the NHS has so far been giving doses within the 12 week-timeframe, we can go back and look at when 3.2 million people had their first dose - that was achieved by 15 January

*  So all those 3.2 million people needed to have their second dose by 9 April; that's still 12 days away, which suggests the programme is meeting its targets, even accounting for small changes in the order of people being recalled for second doses

*  However, the rate at which first vaccines were given accelerated sharply from mid-January - so it will become more challenging in the coming weeks to deliver the same number of second jabs

Mr Dowden also said people "still need to abide by the rules after Monday", which is when lockdown rules are next eased in England.

From Monday, six people or two households are allowed to gather together outside and the "stay at home" guidance will be lifted, which coincides with forecasts of warm and sunny weather in some areas.

In Wales, the "stay local" rule was lifted on Saturday and people were allowed to meet in groups of six outside.


Some experts have expressed hesitancy at the planned relaxation of rules.

Prof Mark Woolhouse, who sits on a group that feeds into the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said with the vaccine rollout performing at its current rate the UK "can get quite close to a full release", but he was "a little bit nervous" about the full relaxation planned for 21 June at the earliest.

Mr Dowden defended the plan, saying it was "cautious" - and the five week gaps between each stage means the government has "four weeks to see the effect of the spread from the easing and then a week to prepare the rules".

But some have been critical of the pace. Sir Richard Sykes, chairman of the scientific body the Royal Institution, said the UK has "gone from being cavalier to crippling caution" when it comes to handling Covid.

He told BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House programme: "If we are not now well prepared to put up with anything that's thrown at us, then it's God help all of us because that's the best we can do at this point in time."

It comes as a group of charities called for the UK to share its vaccines with poorer countries.


Oliver Dowden: "We remain confident that we can deliver" on vaccine rollout


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×