Four more Covid deaths in Black Country and Birmingham as region hits jab milestone
Four more Covid deaths have been confirmed in the Black Country and Birmingham as the region passed the halfway point for adult Covid jabs.
The deaths in Sandwell and Birmingham were among 12 Midland deaths announced by the NHS on Saturday. All four patients died on Thursday.
It means 7,509 have now died with coronavirus in hospitals across the Black Country, Birmingham and Staffordshire.
Alongside this, a further 1,385 people have died in the region's care homes after contracting Covid-19.
Three of the patients whose deaths were announced on Saturday died at the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. A total of 2,581 Covid patients have now died at the trust runs Queen Elizabeth, Heartlands, Solihull and Good Hope hospitals.
And one patient died in the care of Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Sandwell General and City Hospitals. It means 1,157 coronavirus patients have now died at the trust.
No new deaths were announced at any hospitals across the Black Country, Birmingham and Staffordshire meaning the death tolls at the region's other major hospital trusts remain as follows:
Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, which runs New Cross Hospital: 795
The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Russells Hall: 729
Walsall Healthcare NHS trust, which runs Walsall Manor: 717
University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, which runs Stafford's County Hospital and Royal Stoke: 1,369
Across England, 58 more deaths were reported by the NHS on Saturday taking the English hospital death toll to 86,154.
The UK-wide death toll, which unlike the NHS only includes deaths within 28 days of a positive test, will be released by the Government later.
On Friday it stood at 126,515.
Jab rollout continues
Meanwhile it has now been confirmed that more than half of all adults in the region have received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
It comes one week after the UK as a whole hit the halfway point for adult vaccinations.
The milestone for the Black Country and West Birmingham region has seen more than 540,000 first doses administered.
Sally Roberts, chief nursing officer for the NHS Black Country and West Birmingham CCGs, said: "It is a truly extraordinary achievement to have vaccinated half of our region’s adults in barely three months.
"This vaccination programme has been on a scale like nothing any of us has seen before and I am immensely proud of all the colleagues who have pulled together to make this happen.
"This has been a true team effort across the Black Country and West Birmingham system."
The vaccine is currently available to anyone aged 50 or over, anyone who has an underlying health condition such as diabetes or asthma, and anyone who works in the health and care sectors or is a named carer for another person.
Anyone aged 50 or above can now get a jab without an appointment at three centres in the region.
