London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

UK starts rollout of AstraZeneca’s Covid jab in world first but health sec warns supply problems are slowing vax programme

UK starts rollout of AstraZeneca’s Covid jab in world first but health sec warns supply problems are slowing vax programme

The UK has become the first country to immunise people against Covid-19 using AstraZeneca’s long-awaited vaccine, but the health secretary has warned that vaccination capacity is being undermined by supply challenges.
On Monday, an 82-year-old man became the first person in the world to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine outside of trial conditions after it was approved for use in the UK last Wednesday.

Around 53,000 doses will be administered at six hospitals in Lancashire, London, Oxford, Sussex and Warwickshire, before the bulk of the UK’s AstraZeneca supplies will be shipped to 700 doctor surgeries and care homes.

The AstraZeneca jab is the second vaccine in use in the UK after a grandmother-of-four received the first dose of Pfizer’s vaccine almost one month ago.

Professor Stephen Powis, the national medical director of NHS England, described the event as “another turning point in our way out of this pandemic.”

Powis said the NHS has been preparing for the biggest vaccination programme in its history for many months.

“We’ve already delivered over a million vaccines of the Pfizer jab; now we’ve got the AstraZeneca one, so we aim to get it into people’s arms as quickly as it is supplied to us…our aim is to get two million doses (per week) into the arms of those priority groups,” he added.

The British government has stated its intention to deliver tens of millions of doses within the coming months, but Health Secretary Matt Hancock has admitted that supply problems are hampering the expansion of the programme.

“It can’t be rolled out even quicker than it’s supplied, that’s the challenge that we have at the moment,” Hancock told Times Radio on Monday.

With the introduction of the new vaccine, the UK has also changed strategy to favour the administration of a singular dose to as many vulnerable people as possible.

“It’s a really positive change for the country as a whole and indeed for the world that you can wait until 12 weeks to get the second dose and the signs with the AstraZeneca vaccine are that you get a better protection if you wait that bit longer,” Hancock told Sky News.

A study conducted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has urged the government to inoculate as many as two million people each week to avoid a “catastrophic” start to the new year.
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
×