Now 93% of over-50s have had their jab

AN incredible 93 per cent of over-50s have now been vaccinated, figures show.

It means the NHS is well on track to meet its target of vaccinating all of the top nine priority groups by April 15.

This includes all adults over the age of 50 and younger adults with a health condition that puts them at greater risk of Covid-19.

These groups make up 99 per cent of deaths from the virus.

So far, 31.1million adults have had their first doses, with 4.5 million of them also getting their second dose.

The Government has said all adults will be offered their first jab by the end of July.

Yesterday another 624,609 jabs were recorded, two-thirds of which were second doses.

The figures will allay fears that the rollout could be derailed by delays to a shipment of five million jabs from India.

‘Testament to hard work of the NHS’

NHS England data, covering the period up until March 28, shows that two in five over-80s have now received both doses and are fully immunised.

Meanwhile 87 per cent of people in their 50s have had their first dose, along with more than 95 per cent of those in their 60s and 70s.

The astonishing pace of Britain’s rollout means it has vaccinated a greater proportion of its population than any other major country apart from Israel.

The rate of vaccination here is four times higher than in the EU, where just 11 per cent have received a jab.

The number of second doses delivered has ramped up significantly in the past few days.

An NHS spokesman said: ‘The latest vaccination stats showing an 82 per cent increase in the number of second doses administered last week are a testament to the hard work of NHS staff.

‘The health service continues to vaccinate all those eligible and it is important that everyone continues to come forward for their second dose within the 12-week timeframe.’

No vaccines have yet been approved for use in children, but trials are underway. Yesterday members of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation said youngsters could be vaccinated to prevent disruption to their education.

Professor Adam Finn, from the University of Bristol, said it may help ‘keep things functioning normally across society’, even though children are not at risk of severe illness from Covid.

Professor Finn told Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘One would not really be comfortable with immunising children entirely for the benefit of others and not for children.

‘I think if it does look as though it’s necessary, that will be driven by the observation that the virus is still circulating and there’s jeopardy for children in terms of disruption to their education.

‘There are children that get sick as well, but I think the main reason for doing it would be to try and keep things functioning normally across society, including schools.’

The University of Oxford is carrying out a clinical trial on children to test the safety and efficacy of its vaccine in younger age groups, with initial results expected in the summer.

Professor Finn added: ‘ The important aspect of that for children is that we desperately want to keep schools open into the next academic year and avoid any further disruption to education.

‘I think this would benefit children if it turns out to be necessary but, clearly, we don’t want to do this unless it is necessary, because it would be an additional difficulty, costs and so on.’