LONDON (Reuters) – More than 27.6 million people in Britain, more than half the adult population, have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to official data released on Sunday, after a daily record of 844,285 doses the previous day.
The data showed that about 2.2 million people have had vaccine doses.
“This huge team effort shows the best of Britain,” tweeted Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who has proclaimed the second record daily number of doses administered in so many days.
Earlier, the government had given a higher figure for the daily number of vaccine doses administered on Saturday. Hancock said the figure was revised downwards after the adjusted data from Scotland arrived, but the new figure remained a UK daily record.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged everyone to accept a vaccine when invited to receive it.
The daily publication of COVID-19 data in the UK showed that 33 new deaths were recorded on Sunday, the lowest figure since October and that it fell from the peaks of more than 1,000 daily deaths in January and February.
The total number of deaths over seven days was 640, 37% less than the previous seven-day period.
New infections also fell, with 5,312 cases recorded on Sunday and a total of 38,145 seven-day periods, down 4% from the previous seven days.
Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 126,155 people have died in the UK within 28 days after testing positive for COVID-19, the highest official death toll in Europe and the fifth highest in the world. .
Vaccine deployment in Britain is the fastest in any major economy, although the government has warned it will slow down next month due to the supply crisis.
Despite the slowdown, progress is still in line with official targets, which means that if nothing is changed, the government’s four-step plan to ease the blockade is expected to continue as announced.
Reports by Estelle Shirbon; Edited by Catherine Evans, Andrew Heavens and Frances Kerry