02 November 2021

More than 50m first doses of Covid-19 vaccine delivered in UK

02 November 2021

More than 50 million first doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been delivered in the UK, figures show.

A total of 41,928,327 doses had been given in England by November 1, along with 4,320,370 in Scotland, 2,446,430 in Wales and 1,329,893 in Northern Ireland.

The overall number of first doses – 50,025,020 – is the equivalent of 87% of people aged 12 and over in the UK, or 74.6% of the entire population.

The figures were published by NHS England, Public Health Scotland, Public Health Wales and the Northern Ireland Department of Health.

(PA Graphics) (PA Graphics)

They suggest around 7.5 million people aged 12 or over in the UK who are eligible for a first jab are still unvaccinated.

Around 6.4 million are in England, 463,000 in Scotland, 305,000 in Wales and 268,000 in Northern Ireland.

Around one in five UK adults under 40 has not received a first dose.

The percentage of 18 to 39-year-olds who are unjabbed ranges from 19% in Scotland to 22% in Wales, with 21% in England and Northern Ireland.

On December 8 2020, Margaret Keenan became the first person in the UK – and the world – to receive a Covid-19 vaccine as part of a mass vaccination programme.

It took just under two months for the number of first doses delivered in the UK to reach 10 million, on February 2.

The speed of the rollout increased over the following months, with 20 million first doses reached on February 27 and 30 million on March 27.

The 40 million mark was passed on June 4, but since then the pace has slowed and it has taken nearly five months to rise to 50 million.

Large cities in England continue to have particularly high levels of unvaccinated young adults.

Birmingham has the highest estimated percentage of unjabbed 18 to 29-year-olds, at 48%, according to analysis by the PA news agency.

The next highest is Coventry (45.7%), followed by the London borough of Islington (43.7%) and Liverpool (42.8%).

There are 36 local authority areas in England where at least a third of 18 to 29-year-olds have yet to receive any vaccine.

These also include Nottingham (40.3%), Manchester (39.6%), Leeds (36.5%) and Sheffield (36%).

Figures for local authorities in England cover vaccinations up to October 24.

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