Nearly 7.5million people in the UK have received the first dose of a COVID vaccine, including 80% of the population aged over 80 years old.
In Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire 99,600 have received their first dose, and among the over 80s 86% have received their first dose.
Across the country vaccinations are now being offered at more than 1,400 NHS sites including: over 1,000 led by GPs, over 250 hospital hubs, over 110 pharmacies, 47 large vaccination centres.
In a further boost to the vaccination programme, it was announced yesterday that Novavax had published positive data from the UK phase 3 study of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, showing it to be 89.3% effective in preventing coronavirus in participants.
The study was conducted during the period the new COVID-19 variant was first observed in Kent and began to circulate widely, with today’s results showing it was effective against the variant during the phase 3 trial.
Thanks to the work of the government’s Vaccines Taskforce, the UK has secured 60 million doses of Novavax’s vaccine to be delivered in the second half of this year, if approved for use by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), who will assess whether the vaccine meets robust standards of safety, effectiveness and quality.
