UK completes Covid-19 vaccination target of People Over 50 ahead of schedule

The United Kingdom has completed the vaccination of people aged over 50 ahead of schedule, administering first shots of coronavirus vaccines to millions of people, Downing Street said on Monday.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a statement said: "We have now passed another hugely significant milestone in our vaccine program by offering jabs to everyone in the nine highest risk groups. That means more than 32 million people have been given the precious protection vaccines provide against Covid-19."

"I want to thank everyone involved in the vaccine rollout which has already saved many thousands of lives. We will now move forward with completing essential second doses and making progress towards our target of offering all adults a vaccine by the end of July," he added.

According to the UK Government, all adults over 50, the clinically vulnerable and health and social care workers have now been offered coronavirus vaccine shots.

"The target was reached ahead of schedule, with the government having pledged to offer a first dose to priority cohorts 1-9 by 15 April," Downing Street said, adding that "nearly 40 million vaccines have now been given in total, with adults under 50 expected to begin to be invited in the coming days."

Those in their late 40s are expected to be next in line to be invited for coronavirus vaccine shots as the UK moves into the next phase of its mass vaccination campaign, according to Sputnik.

"Over 7 million second doses have now been given - with a record 475,230 given on Saturday - and we remain on track to offer a first vaccine to all adults by 31 July," Downing Street said.

The mass vaccination campaign started in the UK in December of last year.

The UK has now confirmed a total of over 4.3 million coronavirus cases and the country's COVID-19 death toll stands at more than 127,000, according to Johns Hopkins University, as reported by Sputnik.

( With inputs from ANI )