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More than 600,000 people in the UK have received the first dose of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, the Department of Health and Welfare said.
Figures show that between December 8 and 20, a total of 616,933 people received the jab.
Under the direction of the government, in accordance with the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI), vaccines have been administered to nursing home residents, people aged 80 and over, and health and social care personnel through more than 500 vaccination centers across the UK.
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A look at the historic vaccine launch
The launch of the vaccine in nursing homes in England and Wales began on December 16, with hundreds of residents vaccinated in nursing homes in Slough, Aintree, Herne Bay, Thanet, Chalfont St Peter, Droitwich, Cheltenham and Flintshire, as well as the Chelsea pensioners. in London.
In Scotland, they started on December 14 and in Northern Ireland it was December 8.
The number of people who have received their first dose of the vaccine in each of the four nations is 521,594 in England, 56,676 in Scotland, 22,595 in Wales and 16,068 in Northern Ireland.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “Thanks to a major effort by the NHS to overcome significant logistical challenges, 616,933 people across the UK have had their stroke of coronavirus vaccine.
“In just over three weeks, the NHS in every part of the UK has already established hundreds of vaccination sites to ensure that those most in need can receive their vaccine as quickly as possible.
“This is just the beginning and we are continually expanding our vaccination program to help everyone get back to normal in the future.”
Vaccine Implementation Minister Nadhim Zahawi added that he was “extremely proud” that the UK was the first to implement the vaccine.
“The NHS in the UK is working incredibly hard to scale up the vaccination program as quickly as possible to ensure that everyone on the priority list can easily get vaccinated,” he said.
The Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine was the first vaccine approved by the UK’s regulatory body, the MHRA, on December 2. The government began implementing them a week later.
Since then it has been approved by the US regulator, the Food and Beverage Administration (FDA)and the European regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
Patients need two doses of the vaccine to be most effective.
The second is given 21 days after the first dose.
