Over 10 Million Covid-19 Vaccines Administered In The North East And Yorkshire
More than 10 million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the North East and Yorkshire, as the UK’s vaccination programme continues at unprecedented pace and scale.
More than 5.7 million people have now received at least one jab in the North East and Yorkshire, and more than 4.3 million people have received both doses, ensuring they have the strongest possible protection. This makes the region the third in England to reach 10 million total doses administered, following the Midlands and the South East.
With 76,774,990 million doses administered in total across the UK, 44,314,799 million people have now been vaccinated with a first dose (84.1%), while 32,460,191 million people have had both doses (61.6%).
The success of the vaccination programme is weakening the link between cases and hospitalisations. Recent analysis by Public Health England (PHE) shows that COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective against hospitalisation from the Delta (B.1.617.2) variant. The analysis suggests the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 96% effective and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is 92% effective against hospitalisation after two doses.
The government met its target of offering a vaccine to the most vulnerable by 15 April and is on track to offer a first dose to all adults by 19 July, two weeks earlier than planned.
NHS England has extended the offer of a vaccine to everyone aged 18 and over. By 19 July, all those aged 40 and over and the clinically extremely vulnerable, who received their first dose by mid-May, will have been offered their second dose.
Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said:
“Thank you to the NHS, volunteers, local authorities and civil servants for their tireless dedication to vaccinate people as quickly as possible – meaning 3 in 5 adults now have the fullest possible protection from this deadly disease.
“Vaccines are the way out of this pandemic and I urge everybody regardless of your age, religion or beliefs, to get their jabs as soon as you are eligible so we can beat this virus.”
Vaccinated people are far less likely to get COVID-19 with symptoms and even more unlikely to get serious COVID-19, to be admitted to hospital, or to die from it and there is growing evidence that they are less likely to pass the virus to others.
Earlier this month, the Prime Minister announced that second doses for all over 40s will be accelerated by reducing the dosing interval from twelve weeks to eight weeks, to ensure people have the fullest possible protection against COVID-19.
The move follows advice from the independent experts at the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which has considered the latest available evidence and has recommended reducing the dosing interval to counter the threat of new variants of concern.
Data from PHE’s real-world study shows vaccines are already having a significant impact in the UK, reducing hospitalisations and deaths, saving over 14,000 lives and preventing over 44,500 hospitalisations in England.
YouGov polling also shows the UK continues to top the list of nations where people are willing to have a COVID-19 vaccine or have already been vaccinated and ONS data published on 9 June shows that more than 9 in 10 (94%) adults reported positive sentiment towards the vaccine.
