Yahoo Finance More than 5 million vaccines given out in UK but London bottom of pile almost 400,000 jabs behind the Midlands
A total of 5,100,475 Covid-19 vaccinations took place in England between December 8 and January 21, according to provisional NHS England data, including first and second doses.
(AFP via Getty Images)More than five million Covid-19 jabs have been given out in the UK but London is still lagging behind in giving jabs, official figures have confirmed.
A total of 5,100,475 Covid-19 vaccinations took place in England between December 8 and January 21, according to provisional NHS England data, including first and second doses.
Of this number, 4,661,293 were the first dose of the vaccine, a rise of 357,563 on Thursday’s figures, while 439,182 were the second dose, an increase of 2,334.
The NHS England data shows a total of 558,553 jabs were given to people in London between December 8 and January 21, including 504,082 first doses and 54,471 second doses. The figures mean that London is still bottom of the pile in terms of the vaccine roll-out across regions.
Its figures compare to 886,072 first doses and 66,841 second doses given to people in the Midlands, a total of 952,913.
The breakdown for the other regions is as follows:
North East and Yorkshire – 770,405 first doses and 71,599 second doses, making 842,004 in total
North West – 651,591 first doses and 63,149 second doses, making 714,740 in total
South East – 749,116 first doses and 76,088 second doses, making 825,204 in total
South West – 522,308 first doses and 53,256 second doses, making 575,564 in total
East of England – 549,497 first doses and 53,487 second doses, making 602,984 in total.
Earlier this week Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the Commons that supply of the vaccine must be fairly distributed across the country when questioned about a Health Service Journal report which showed how different regions across the country were being vaccinated.
Mr Hancock added: “We have got to make sure that the vaccination programme is fair right across the UK, and some parts of the country, including parts of the north-east and parts of Yorkshire, have gone really fast early on which is terrific.
“And we do have to make sure that the vaccination programme is fair everywhere so that everyone in the top four groups can receive that offer of a vaccine by the February 15.”
When asked by the Standard earlier in the week about why vaccine numbers distributed were lagging behind the rest of the country, a spokesman for the NHS in London said: “The NHS coronavirus vaccination programme, the biggest in the health service’s history, has got off to a strong start, with hundreds of thousands of Londoners receiving their first vaccination against Covid.
“London is getting its fair share of vaccine supply for the priority groups we have to vaccinate by mid-February.”
It comes as London and eastern England was also reported to be lagging behind other regions in vaccinating those aged 80 and over.
