Two- thirds of adults have had f irst Covid jab

BRITAIN yesterday passed another vaccine milestone with more than two-thirds of adults now given a Covid-19 jab.

According to the latest figures, 35,188,981 people – the equivalent of 66.8 per cent of the adult population – have had their first dose of vaccine. Of those, 17,214,436, comprising 32.7 per cent of adults, have had their second shot.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock tweeted: ‘ The vaccine is saving lives so when it’s your turn, come forward & get the jab.’

The milestone came as just five deaths and 101 new hospitalisations were reported, down a quarter on figures last Saturday.

Despite the loosening of lockdown restrictions, there were 2,047 positive tests in the previous 24 hour period, down five per cent weekon-week. The success of Britain’s vaccination programme contrasts with Germany, where 39 per cent of adults have had their first jab, and France, where it is just 33 per cent.

The raft of positive news came as • Health Secretary Matt Hancock was accused of wrecking half-term holidays by opposing the opening up of more overseas destinations. The first review of countries on the so-called ‘green list’ will start in the week of May 31; • The Mail on Sunday launched a campaign for patients to get more face-to-face consultations with GPs; • ‘Surge testing’ began in Bolton after it was identified as a hotspot for an Indian strain of the virus.

Despite the progress in the battle against Covid-19, Boris Johnson’s former adviser Dominic Cummings launched a fresh attack on his handling of the crisis. Promoting a book by US statistician Julia Galef, Mr Cummings suggested that if the ‘20 most influential people dealing with Covid’ in the Government had read her book The Scout Mindset, then ‘10s of 1000s who died cd still be alive’. The book encourages people to act like a scout who ‘surveys the land, seeking accuracy and understanding’ rather than like ‘ soldiers’ who ‘ protect… beliefs aggressively and ignore any evidence that we might be wrong’.