More than 3.5 million people received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine in the UK, exceeding the number tested positive for the virus, according to British government data. A total of 3,559,179 people received their first dose last Friday, but only 447,261 of them received a second dose.
The head of England’s National Health Service told the BBC on Sunday that more than half of people aged 80 and over received the first dose, with the rate of vaccinations accelerating in the coming weeks.
“We will start testing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in some hospitals over the next 10 days, but we are currently vaccinating at a rate of around 140 applications per minute,” said Simon Stevens.
Stevens said someone is being admitted to the hospital with the virus every 30 seconds.
The UK has the highest number of coronavirus deaths in Europe, according to Johns Hopkins University data, with 81,800 deaths.
“Since Christmas Day, we’ve seen another 15,000 increase in the number of patients admitted to hospitals across England, which is equivalent to filling 30 hospitals with coronavirus patients,” said Stevens.
On Monday, 10 more mass vaccination sites will be opened across England as the vaccine’s launch in the country is accelerated.