One in six UK adults fully vaccinated against Covid-19, figures show
Wales has given both jabs to nearly a quarter of its adult population.
One in six UK adults are now fully vaccinated against Covid-19, with more than two million second doses delivered in the past seven days, latest figures show.
A total of 8.9 million people have now received both jabs – the equivalent of 17.0% of the adult population.
Wales is estimated to have given two doses to nearly a quarter of adults (22.8%), some way ahead of Northern Ireland (17.2%), England (16.8%) and Scotland (15.5%).
The figures are for vaccinations reported by the UK’s health agencies up to April 15, and reflect the pace at which second doses are being ramped up across the country.
Some 2.4 million second doses were recorded in the seven days to April 15, compared with 1.6 million, 1.9 million and just under one million in the previous three weeks.
Second doses of Covid-19 vaccines must follow within 12 weeks of the first, meaning the millions of people who received their initial jab in January and early February have recently had a follow-up dose, or are due to get the jab shortly.
People aged 80 and over were among the first groups on the priority list for vaccines, with initial doses offered from early December.
Figures released on Thursday by NHS England suggest around three-quarters of people in England in this age group have now had both doses of vaccine.
In Wales, 67% of people 80 and over are estimated to have had both jabs, along with 72% in Scotland and 41% in Northern Ireland.
Wales leads the field in both first and second doses of vaccine, with nearly two-thirds of its adult population having received the first jab (65.7%), followed by England (61.8%), Scotland (61.4%) and Northern Ireland (58.5%).
Separate analysis by the PA news agency suggests more than a third of 16 to 49-year-olds in some parts of England have now had their first dose, while in a few local areas the proportion is as high as four in 10.
Havant in Hampshire (42.7%), Wyre in Lancashire (42.0%) and Hertsmere in Hertfordshire (41.5%) are the areas with the highest percentage of people aged 16 to 49 likely to have received a first jab.
A total of 72 of the 313 local authority areas in England are estimated to have given a first dose to at least a third of people in this age group.
The areas with the lowest proportions are all London boroughs: Islington (17.7%), Hackney (17.9%) and the City of London (18.0%).
The analysis is based on the latest available data from NHS England, which is for vaccines up to April 11.
The official rollout of first doses to people in England under 50 began only this week, but some individuals will have been eligible for the jab since the start of the year by belonging to one of the priority groups for vaccination.
These include all staff working in care homes, all frontline health and social workers, and anyone from the age of 16 upwards with underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality.
