Over 20 million Brits jabbed

UK plans to offer first dose to whole adult population by end-July

LONDON: Britain said that more than 20 million of its people have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while the rest of Europe lagged behind, with the hard-hit Czech Republic turning to Russia’s Sputnik V jab as it fights the world’s highest infection rate.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the milestone “a huge national achievement” and praised National Health Service staff and others for their “tireless work”.

“I urge everyone to get the jab when called,” Johnson said.

“Every jab makes a difference in our battle against Covid.”

Britain has suffered the highest Covid-19 death toll in Europe – it currently stands at 122,849 – and the heaviest economic shock among big rich countries, according to the headline measures of official data.

But the pace of its vaccination rollout has raised the prospect of a gradual lifting of its current lockdown restrictions between now and the end of June.

London says it plans to offer a first jab to the whole adult population by the end of July.

Only Israel and the United Arab Emirates have vaccinated more people per capita.

But Israel, despite having administered both doses of the Pfizer vaccine to more than a third of its population, is still in its third lockdown, with restrictions easing gradually.

On Sunday, dozens of ultra-Orthodox Jews defied the lockdown to mark the Purim holiday.

Some threw stones at police in Jerusalem as tensions persist between authorities and a deeply devout community accused of repeatedly flouting coronavirus restrictions.

Czech President Milos Zeman meanwhile said he had written to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to request a supply of Sputnik V doses after a slower than expected vaccination rollout, and expects supply to arrive “in the next few days”.

Zeman said he would also welcome China’s Sinopharm vaccine in the country that has recorded over 1.2 million confirmed Covid-19 cases and more than 20,000 deaths, arguing that “vaccines have no ideology”.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Sunday he received the Sinopharm jab days after Hungary became the first EU member to use the vaccine.