Today, the Government has published the regional breakdown of vaccine administrations across England.
Gosport MP, Caroline Dinenage, has welcomed the news that 411,257 vaccines have been given in the South East. This includes 348,863 first doses and 62,394 second doses.
The South East is the third in the leader board of regions administering the most vaccinations, with the Midlands having given a total of 447,329 and North East and Yorkshire 433,045.
In total, across the UK over 3 million people have received a shot. This makes the UK the 4th country in the world for vaccinations per capita, behind Israel, the UAE and Bahrain. The UK still has vaccinated more people than any other country in Europe.
Caroline commented:
“I am extremely pleased to hear that so many of our most vulnerable residents in the South East have received at least one jab to help protect them from COVID-19 just over a month after the first vaccine received approval from the MHRA.
“The vaccine plays an incredibly important part in shielding residents, reducing hospitalisations and relieving pressure off our NHS.
“I know that our NHS workers and volunteers are working incredibly hard to administer jabs as quickly and safely as possible and I would like to thank them again for their continued efforts.”
Today, the first community pharmacies will also start to provide COVID-19 jabs to assist the biggest vaccination programme in NHS history. Boots, Superdrug and several independent stores will be the first to offer vaccinations. It is estimated that 200 pharmacies are due to come online over the next fortnight.
Dr Bruce Warner, Deputy Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, said:
“The NHS coronavirus vaccination programme, the biggest in health service history, has got off to a great start with more than 2.4 million jabs delivered.
“Pharmacy teams have been working incredibly hard throughout the pandemic and, as we accelerate the vaccination programme, they are playing a vital role in delivering the life-saving jabs to those in their communities.
“We know that people are very keen to get the vaccine but we are appealing to people not to turn up early so that we can maintain social distancing.”
Health and Social Care Secretary, Matt Hancock, said:
“It is fantastic that high-street pharmacies will now begin deploying COVID-19 vaccinations. Pharmacies sit at the heart of local communities and will make a big difference to our rollout programme by providing even more local, convenient places for those that are eligible to get their jab.
“Pharmacists have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic, often acting as the first port of call for medical advice – and often staying open when all around have closed. I want to extend my thanks to every pharmacy for their efforts to support the national response to the pandemic and keep people safe.”