OVER two-thirds of British adults have now had two doses of the Covid vaccine.
This means 67 per cent of people are now fully protected against severe illness from the bug.
It comes just days before Freedom Day, with ministers urging everyone to get double jabbed.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “Barely 8 months since the first vaccine was given, this is another extraordinary achievement.
“Thank you again to everyone coming forward, and to those helping others to get jabbed.
"You are the reason we are able to cautiously ease restrictions next week, and return closer towards normal life.
“Now let’s finish the job. If you’re over 18, book both your jabs today.”
Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: “We have hit our target almost a week early, this is a huge achievement in the UK’s phenomenal vaccine rollout.
"The vaccination programme is building a strong wall of protection around our population, saving tens of thousands of lives, preventing millions of infections and allowing us to cautiously progress through the roadmap.
“Everyone has a part to play in overcoming this virus so please come forward for your jab if you haven’t already – it is the best way to protect you, your loved ones and your community.”
ROLLOUT ROLLING ON
A total of 81,192,857 doses have been administered in the UK, with 46,037,090 people receiving a first dose (87.4 per cent) and 35,155,767 people receiving both doses.
The Prime Minister set a target to vaccinate two thirds of adults in the UK with both doses by July 19.
Today’s announcement means this has been achieved ahead of target.
Mr Johnson announced last week that every adult in England has now been offered at least one dose of the vaccine and all adults in the UK are able to get their second doses after eight weeks.
This will mean every adult has the chance to have two doses by mid-September.
Data from Public Health England (PHE) shows the vaccines are highly effective against hospitalisation from the Delta (B.1.617.2) variant.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 96 per cent effective and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is 92 per cent effective against hospitalisation after two doses.
Further analysis from PHE and the University of Cambridge also suggests vaccines have so far prevented an estimated 8.5 million infections and more than 30,000 deaths in England alone.
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