More than 800,000 booster and third doses recorded in UK over Christmas
Around 62% of adults in the UK have received an extra dose.
More than 800,000 booster and third doses of Covid-19 vaccine were recorded across the UK during the five-day Christmas period, figures show.
A total of 33,091,891 extra doses had been delivered as of December 28 – the first time a UK-wide figure has been available since December 23, when the number stood at 32,290,487.
It means 801,404 booster and third doses were added across the five days from Christmas Eve to December 28.
Around 62% of adults in the UK have received a booster or third dose, with as many as 65% in Scotland.
The figures were published by the UK’s four health agencies.
They also show that:
– 10,480 boosters and third doses were reported in the UK on Christmas Day, with 22,983 on Boxing Day
– The seven-day average for booster and third doses currently stands at 321,000, after peaking at 886,797 on December 22
– 55,710 first doses of vaccine have been added since December 23, along with 70,209 second doses
– A total of 51.7 million first doses of vaccine have now been delivered in the UK, along with 47.3 million second doses
The most number of booster and third doses recorded on a single day was 968,665 on December 21.
The Government has said all eligible adults in the UK will be offered the chance to get a booster jab before the end of the month.
People can have a booster if they are three months on from receiving their second dose.
Third doses – the other type of extra dose – are available eight weeks after a second dose to people aged 12 and over with severely weakened immune systems.
Take-up of extra doses in recent days is likely to have been affected by the level of Covid-19 infections across the country.
People are not eligible to receive a vaccine within 28 days of having had the virus.
Data published on Christmas Eve by the Office for National Statistics showed that an estimated 1.7 million people in the UK had Covid-19 in the week ending December 19, or around one in 35 people – the highest number since comparable figures began in autumn 2020.
The Christmas holidays may also be having an impact on vaccine take-up, with people carrying on festive plans or away from their local area having travelled to stay with family and friends.
