Britain’s jab drive reaches the half-way stage: Matt Hancock hails ‘national success story’

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Britain today passed a huge milestone as half of all adults have now received their coronavirus vaccine – a day after the country recorded a record number of daily jabs.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock hailed the ‘national success story’ and reiterated that it was ‘our way out of this pandemic’.

Government data up to March 18 shows 49.9 per cent of adults had a first dose of the vaccine, with an estimated 73,000 more jabs needed to pass the halfway mark. Those figures are expected to be updated later today.

Yesterday the vaccine drive hit a record high after 660,276 doses were dished out across the country in the previous 24 hours.

It comes as a top British scientist who is leading Covid-19 vaccine research warned the Government faces a ‘challenge’ to deliver all second jabs within 12 weeks due to supply issues.

Meanwhile Ursula von der Leyen threatened to halt exports of AstraZeneca vaccines if the EU does not receive its deliveries first, in a worsening row over delayed shipments that has caused international tensions.

And a government scientist warned foreign trips are ‘extremely unlikely’ for Britons this summer as Europe struggles to control a surge in coronavirus cases.

Elsewhere in the never-ending crisis:

• Politicians across the House of Commons have called for Priti Patel to change coronavirus legislation to allow protests despite lockdown;
• Billionaire tax exiles, an oil-rich nation and Saudi royals have claimed millions of pounds under the furlough scheme, an investigation reveals;
• Boris Johnson yesterday joined the millions of vaccinated Britons after receiving his first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab;
• Angela Merkel said she will have the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine after lifting her government’s ban in a stunning U-turn;
• Britain yesterday saw Covid cases fall again, dropping by a quarter from last week to 4,802 positive tests in a day while deaths also dropped by 42 per cent to 101.

Mr Hancock said today: ‘I’m absolutely delighted to tell you that we have now vaccinated half of all adults in the united kingdom.

‘It’s a huge success and I want to say many, many thanks to all those involved, including the half of all adults who have come forward.’

He added: ‘The UK vaccination programme is a big success story. It’s down to the hard work of many, many people.’

The vaccine programme had been steadily gaining pace this week, after 529,119 total doses were given out on Tuesday and 581,855 on Wednesday.

Some 26.2million Britons have now received their first dose, the equivalent of half the adult population in Britain, and  two million have received both injections.

Despite the promising week, the NHS is gearing up for a significant shortage of vaccine doses next month due to supply issues in India.

A shipment of five million Oxford shots has been delayed, for reasons have not been made clear, with No10 holding talks with New Delhi to get the roll-out back on track.

It means Britons over 40 who were expecting to be called for their appointments next month will need to wait until at least May. Ministers are instead prioritising current stock for over-50s and for people due their second doses.

Conservative MPs were quick to congratulate Health Secretary Mr Hancock after the monumental vaccination figure was reached.

Baroness Morgan tweeted: ‘A remarkable achievement – thank you to everyone involved in making this happen. For the first & last time ever I’m sorry not to be over 50!’

Conservative Alicia Kearns, MP for Rutland and Melton, said: ‘Half of all adults vaccinated – what a Herculean achievement!’

Tory Rob Butler posted: ”Vaccinating half of all adults in the UK is an astonishing achievement.’ The MP for Aylesbury added: ‘Thank you to everyone in & around Aylesbury for your contribution.’

MP for Bury St Edmunds Jo Churchill said: ‘An incredible milestone – we have now vaccinated half of all adults in the UK. When you receive your invitation please #getthejab!’

And Conservative MP for BurySouth Christian Wakeford put: ‘Might be waiting a bit for mine but this is a massive achievement. To everyone who has helped get us this far – Thank you.’

Professor Robin Shattock of Imperial College London, who is leading Covid-19 vaccine research, warned the Government faces a ‘challenge’ to deliver all second jabs within 12 weeks.

He told BBC Breakfast the Government needed to make sure as many people as possible receive both doses of the vaccine to ‘not lose the advantage we are already gaining’.

He said: ‘We need to get people vaccinated as soon as possible, and get those second doses delivered within that 12-week period, which is going to be a challenge to do that and deliver vaccine to people who haven’t had their first dose.’

Asked about new variants, Professor Shattock added: ‘Something we have to be careful about is the potential for new variants to arise and the vaccine may have a selective pressure.

‘It emphasises again we can’t unlock too quickly. We need to make sure that as many people have both doses of the vaccine so we can get on top of it and not lose the advantage we are already gaining.’ 

And asked how well the vaccine was working in terms of reducing transmission, he said: ‘I think it’s really difficult to say at this stage.

‘We are seeing a reduction in hospitalisation and in some parts of the country, a reduction in transmission, that’s a good thing. The vaccine may be contributing to that.

‘But we are seeing in other parts of the world, it’s going down in the US for example and they’re not as far ahead with their vaccine campaign, so we can’t be complacent.’

Meanwhile Ms von der Leyen threatened to halt exports of AstraZeneca vaccines if the EU does not receive its deliveries first, in a worsening row over delayed shipments that has heightened tensions.

The EU chief told the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company it has to come through on deliveries to the bloc or it would block exports of jabs made on its turf. 

She told Germany’s Funke media group: ‘We have the option of banning a planned export.  That’s the message to AstraZeneca: you fulfil your contract with Europe first before you start delivering to other countries.’

The warning comes as the European Union struggles to speed up its Covid inoculation campaign, just as many member states are battling rising infection rates that have forced renewed restrictions.

Ms Von der Leyen said AstraZeneca had delivered only 30 per cent of the 90million vaccine doses it had promised for the first quarter of the year.

The firm blamed production delays at its EU plants in Belgium and the Netherlands, but European officials are furious that AstraZeneca has been able to deliver its UK contract in full while falling short on the continent.

European Commission president Ms von der Leyen had on Wednesday already threatened to invoke emergency powers to block European exports of Covid-19 vaccines to ensure ‘reciprocity’ with other suppliers.

‘All options are on the table,’ the former German defence minister said, adding that the vaccine situation would be addressed among EU leaders at talks next week.

The EU has already set up special oversight of vaccine exports in which manufacturers contracted to supply Europe must declare if they intend to export doses outside the bloc.

Most of the EU’s worry is over Britain, where the inoculation campaign has progressed at a much faster pace than in continental Europe.

Brussels has accused London of operating a de facto export ban to achieve its vaccine success, a claim furiously denied by Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government.

The EU’s export ban mechanism must first be triggered in an individual member state and then be approved by the European Commission before it can be enforced.

The mechanism has so far only been applied once, with Italy blocking the export of a 250,000 dose shipment of AstraZeneca vaccine to Australia, citing ‘persistent shortage’ and ‘delays in supply’.

Not all EU members support export bans, which could upset global supply chains, and countries like Belgium and the Netherlands have urged caution.

If the European Union blocked all exports of coronavirus vaccines made on its turf, Britain could remain self-sufficient and still get jabs to the entire population.

The majority of the 100million AstraZeneca jabs ordered by the UK are made at home in England and Wales, with a small 10million order from Pune, India, partially delayed this week.

In a worst-case scenario it could immunise the entire adult population (around 50million people) using the company’s jab alone.

However, it could come under pressure on second dose supply, with around 13million people have already had at least one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which is made in Puurs, Belgium.

This means Britain has to have another 13million doses at least, in order to make sure those people are fully protected.

And it also hopes for another 14million so it can immunise the total 20million for whom doses were ordered.

AstraZeneca does have manufacturing sites in Europe, with the active ingredient behind the vaccine made in Belgium and the Netherlands and ‘fill and finish’ site in Italy, where the vaccine is put into vials.

In an unexpected blow for sun-starved Brits earlier today, Dr Mike Tildesley said there was a danger travellers could bring back new Covid variants which are less susceptible to vaccines.

The Warwick University professor, who is a member of the Spi-M modelling group, warned it means overseas jaunts for the average holidaymaker are in doubt.

Dr Tildesley told the Today programme: ‘I think that international travel this summer is, for the average holidaymaker, sadly I think, extremely unlikely.

‘I think we are running a real risk if we do start to have lots of people going overseas in July and August because of the potential for bringing more of these new variants back into the country.

‘What is really dangerous is if we jeopardise our vaccination campaign by having these variants where the vaccines don’t work as effectively spreading more rapidly.’

Outbreaks of the South African variant in countries throughout the Continent is causing particular concern, sparking calls for tougher travel restrictions.

Some experts fear European getaways in May and potentially in the summer months – much anticipated by millions of Britons – are now a doubt.

Britain’s vaccination roll-out has been a huge success – with a record 660,276 jabs administered yesterday – but the picture in the Bloc looks different.

The EU has overseen a shambolic vaccine distribution programme and the number of positive tests is on the up in countries such as France, Spain, Germany and Italy.

The worry for British experts is that such scenes earlier in the pandemic have often foreshadowed a similar scenario in the UK.

The warning came as Britain’s vaccine tsar blasted ‘irresponsible’ European leaders for encouraging anti-vaxxers by casting doubt over AstraZeneca‘s jabs.

Kate Bingham hit out at Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel after they suggested the vaccines were not effective on the elderly.

The 55-year-old former head of the Government’s vaccine task force said she ‘would not be happy to have leaders undermining a vaccine’.

Vaccine Tsar Ms Bingham told the Telegraph: ‘If I was sitting in those countries, I would not be happy to have leaders that are undermining a vaccine that could actually protect.

‘The data are coming through every day showing how effective it is in the elder people. The UK’s done really well because we’ve had astonishingly high take-up.

‘Whereas if you’ve got leaders basically saying ”I’m not taking that vaccine” it’s completely irresponsible. There’s no other word for it, actually.’

A new month-long lockdown was imposed in Paris and other regions across the Channel this weekend. Scientists fearing as many as one in ten of the 35,000 daily cases reported in the French capital are the South African variant.

Officially known as B.1.351, it is the Covid strain concerning scientists most because it makes the current crop of jabs slightly less effective.

While vaccination offers some protection to Britain, there are still millions of young people who are well down the waiting list and most likely to spread the virus.

Experts are not urging the PM to change the current plan to ease restrictions but caution is being exercised and a surge could prompt a change of thought.

Meanwhile Professor Sir John Bell – part of the vaccine taskforce – slammed France for not giving the Oxford jab to under-55s after saying it was not for the elderly.

The Oxford University immunologist warned the changing advice was undermining confidence in the whole vaccination programme.

Oxford University’s Sir John warned the changing advice in France was undermining confidence in the whole vaccination programme.

He told the Today programme:’It doesn’t make any sense. The whole thing looks completely crackers. They are changing the rules almost every week.

‘They are really damaging people’s confidence in vaccines generally – not just the AstraZeneca vaccine.

‘They are sitting on a massive stockpile of vaccines that they haven’t deployed yet and at the same time they have got a massive wave of the new variants coming across the country. You couldn’t make it up.’

He added: ‘If there are clotting problems associated with the vaccines – I am not saying there are, but if there were – they are at a very tiny level compared with the problems you get if you get the disease. If you want to die of a clot, get Covid.’

Mr Macron was slammed when earlier this year he claimed the Oxford jab was ‘quasi-ineffective’ for the elderly.

Mrs Merkel also came in for criticism when she said she would not take that vaccine and said it was not to be used on over-65s.

Her claims came despite the European Medicines Agency saying they were fine for all age groups. Mrs Merkel yesterday backed down and said she would have it.

Pfizer yesterday urged the EU to back down on its threat to block vaccine exports to the UK, claiming Britain could hit back by impounding crucial UK-manufactured ingredients for vaccines produced in Europe.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen issued the warning this week amid the shambolic distribution of jabs on the continent.

She threatened to block exports of vaccines to Britain while complaining that the EU was ‘still waiting’ for Astazeneca doses to be delivered from the UK, where the vaccine drive is far outpacing efforts on the continent.

Both European and British regulators have insisted the vaccine is safe and that the tiny handful of clotting cases – out of millions of jab recipients – is not linked to the injections.

It is thought there are currently 7.5million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine sitting un-used in Europe as a result of the bans.

But Ms von der Leyen’s threat has sparked a response from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and partner BioNTech.

The firms have told Brussels of the potential power held by the UK, which could see officials preventing raw materials needed for the jab being shipped from northern England if the row continues.

A chemicals firm in the small town of Snaith, North Yorkshire, signed a five-year contract with the EU before Christmas and has since delivered ‘fatty molecules’ to Pfizer factories in the bloc, according to the Telegraph.

If Boris Johnson and his top team move to stop deliveries flowing across the Channel, it could see production at its main site in Belgium halted completely within weeks.

A senior Government source distanced themselves from the suggestion, but Pfizer and BioNTech are believed to have issued a private warning over the ramifications if Downing Street is provoked further.

Lipid nanoparticles – specialised fatty molecules used to encase the vaccine and make sure it is safely administered to human cells – are in short supply globally, and the drugmaker is said to be ‘heavily dependent’ on supplies from the UK.

Croda International is one of only a handful of companies in the world which can supply the substance and has quadrupled its factory capacity to meet demand, which it predict will generate more than £90m in sales.

A Pfizer spokesman told the Telegraph: ‘We have been clear with all stakeholders that the free movement of goods and supply across borders is absolutely critical to Pfizer and the patients we serve.’

Mr Johnson yesterday joined the millions of vaccinated Britons after receiving his first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab.

The PM, 56, gave a thumbs up after having his inoculation at St Thomas’ in London – the same hospital he was admitted when struck down with Covid in April last year.

Encouraging others to also get jabbed, he said he ‘literally couldn’t feel a thing’ when his nurse, Lily, injected him in his left arm.

By receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine himself, Mr Johnson is sending the strongest possible signal he believes it to be safe following hesitancy from European leaders.

Countries including France, Germany and Italy had suspended use of the jab after a handful of recipients – out of millions – experienced blot clotting.

Faced with comparably sluggish rollouts and low take-up, their action was widely condemned as a political calculation – which has now been reversed.

Italian PM Mario Draghi on Friday night said that he will have the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Mr Johnson added: ‘Listen to the scientists, listen to what the European Medicines Agency had to say, to what the MHRA [the British regulator] has said. ‘The risk is Covid – this is a great thing to do.’

Britain has now vaccinated over half of its adult population and the rollout yesterday hit a record pace after 660,276 doses were dished out.

Mr Johnson tweeted: ‘I’ve just received my first Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine dose. Thank you to all of the incredible scientists, NHS staff and volunteers who helped make this happen.

‘Getting the jab is the best thing we can do to get back to the lives we miss so much. Let’s get the jab done.’

Latest Department of Health data shows 528,260 first doses were administered on Thursday, on top of another 132,016 second shots.

Fellow cabinet ministers including Grant Shapps, Therese Coffey and Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi have also been jabbed.

The PM’s jab will put him among the thousands of Britons expected to receive their vaccine.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said a ‘mammoth team effort’ had led to Britain hitting record pace, while health minister Lord Bethell pointed out it meant nearly one per cent of the country had been jabbed in a single day.

The programme had been steadily gaining pace this week, after 529,119 total doses were given out on Tuesday and 581,855 on Wednesday.

Some 26.2million Britons have now received their first dose, the equivalent of half the adult population in Britain, and 2m have received both injections.

Despite the promising week, the NHS is gearing up for a significant shortage of vaccine doses next month due to supply issues in India.

A shipment of four million AstraZeneca shots from has been delayed, for reasons that aren’t totally clear, with No10 holding secret talks with New Delhi to get the roll-out back on track.

It means Britons aged over 40 who were expecting to be called for their appointments next month will need to wait until at least May while ministers prioritise current stock for over-50s and for people due their second doses.

Meanwhile, MailOnline yesterday revealed Britain has almost stopped giving out the Pfizer Covid vaccine to new patients so it can save supplies for second doses.

The NHS in England appears to now be rationing the jab, which was used to kick off the rollout in December, and only used it for one in 10 new patients in the first week of March.

It comes after NHS figures revealed how vaccine uptake rates differed across the country, with only 60 per cent of over-55s in parts of London receiving their first doses compared to almost 90 per cent in parts of Worcestershire.

There are 21 areas of the country that have yet to hit more than 70 per cent of this age group, and 17 of them are in London.

For comparison, the Isles of Scilly has vaccinated 822 of its 876 over-55s — giving it an uptake of 93.8 per cent — and Stafford, Mid Suffolk and the Wyre Forest in Worcestershire have all jabbed more than 89 per cent. 

Uptake figures are based on the latest population estimates by Public Health England’s National Immunisation Management Service (NIMS).

Officials insist vaccines are divvied out evenly across the country, suggesting poor uptake is to blame. Health chiefs are concerned about high levels of vaccine hesitancy among black and ethnic minorities, fuelled by anti-vaxx messages on social media. 

England’s vaccine roll-out was widened to over-50s this week but a shortfall in the vaccine supply next month is expected to mean millions of over-40s won’t be inoculated until May.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock this week revealed supplies would be used to mop up the over-50s who haven’t already been jabbed, while ensuring Britons don’t miss out on crucial top-ups. Diverting supplies to inner-city neighbourhoods with low uptake rates will stop areas leading the way from moving down the priority list. 

MailOnline’s analysis of the latest vaccine statistics shows most parts of the country are well on their way to achieving the target of offering first doses to all over-50s by April 15.

But most of the capital is seriously lagging behind in the roll-out to over-55s, with more than half a million in the age group yet to receive a jab in London.

Uptake was worst in Hackney (59.2 per cent), Newham (60.2 per cent), Kensington and Chelsea (61.1 per cent), Southwark (61.3 per cent) and Westminster (61.4 per cent). Nearly 90,000 over-55s still have to come forward for a jab in those boroughs alone.

On the other end of the spectrum, 35 areas of the country have vaccinated more than 85 per cent of people in that age group.

The Isles of Scilly, Stafford, Mid Suffolk and Wyre Forest had jabbed more than 89 per cent, followed by the Isle of Wight (88.7 per cent), Wyre (88.3 per cent), Babergh (87.9 per cent), Malvern Hills (87.4 per cent) and Harborough (87.2 per cent).  

East Suffolk has vaccinated 88.5 per cent of its over-55s despite being one of the very few local authorities in the country to have more than 100,000 people in the age group. 

The data also showed just 64 per cent of carers working in people’s homes have taken up the offer of the vaccine.

Uptake among the group — who work with the most vulnerable people in society — is lowest in Barnet in north London (28.5 per cent), Barnsley in south Yorkshire (29.3 per cent) and Bath and North East Somerset (29.3 per cent).  

Meanwhile, official data suggests Britain has almost stopped giving out the Pfizer Covid vaccine to new patients so it can save supplies for second doses.

The NHS appears to now be rationing the jab, which was used to kick off the rollout in December, and only used it for one in 10 new patients in the first week of March.

In January, when AstraZeneca’s vaccine first got approved, Pfizer’s still accounted for three quarters of all first doses but this fell to just nine per cent in the first week of March, when only 200,000 new patients were given it.

MailOnline understands deliveries of the Belgian-made jab will be smaller from April because of a planned reduction and there is also a risk the EU will try to rescue its shambolic roll-out and try to block shipments from reaching the UK.

Ministers must be careful with the supply they do get because they’re already over halfway through supplies planned up to June – and they owe around 10m people a second dose.

The Department of Health said everyone will get their second doses within 12 weeks as planned. Both the Department and Pfizer declined to comment on the delivery schedule but insist there is no problem with supplies, amid reports on social media of Britons being told there is a shortage.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine, which is available in much larger quantities, is now taking over as the country’s staple vaccine as medics rattle through the priority lists.

But a hiccup in supplies of that because of a blocked shipment of 5million doses from India – combined with a need to reserve Pfizer stocks – means the number of people getting first doses will be ‘significantly constrained’ in April, the NHS has warned.

This means millions of people in their 40s will likely have to wait until at least May to get their first doses. But Whitehall insiders are still hopeful that some will get jabs ahead of schedule, amid claims under-50s would be invited by Easter.

Figures in the MHRA’s Yellow Card reports, which record people’s reactions to the vaccines, show that the proportion of first jabs that are Pfizer’s has tumbled.

While 78 per cent of all first doses were Pfizer jabs between December 8 and January 24, this split reversed between February 7 and March 7 so that it only accounted for 34 per cent.

The vaccine was used for 1.2million first doses between December 8 and January 4 before Oxford’s got approval.

AstraZeneca’s came into use on January 4 but by January 24, Pfizer’s still accounted for 78 per cent of all first doses – 5.4m out of a total 6.9m.

Come February, when AstraZeneca’s was being churned out at a rate of 2million per week, the proportion of new patients who were getting Pfizer’s jab started to come down but it remained a mainstay of the rollout.

It had accounted for 60 per cent by February 7, when AstraZeneca started to gain ground.

Weekly data available from early February shows the proportion of weekly first-dose vaccines that were Pfizer ranged between 30 and 50 per cent in February.

But it then plummeted to just nine per cent in the first week of March, when only 200,000 people out of 2.2million were given the Pfizer jab.

In that most recent week the number of second doses was about equal to the number of first doses, suggesting a pivot in the way the jab is being used.

A Department of Health spokesman said: ‘Vaccines will save thousands of lives and reduce hospitalisations and any vaccine approved by the MHRA is proven to be both safe, and effective.