Covid vaccine: How many people in the UK have been vaccinated so far?

More than 10 million people in the UK have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine - part of the biggest inoculation programme the country has ever launched.

In a race against a faster-spreading variant of the virus, ministers have pinned their hopes of ending a third national lockdown on protecting the most vulnerable groups by spring.

But there are huge challenges, not least the unprecedented scale and supply demands, but also the need for rigorous safety checks and deep-freeze storage.

The government aims to offer vaccines to 15 million people - those aged 70 and over, healthcare workers and people required to shield - by mid-February and millions more people aged 50 and over and other priority groups by spring.

They are thought to represent 90-99% of those at risk of dying from Covid-19.

With the UK's National Health Service (NHS) now looking likely to hit the mid-February target, some regions of the UK have already begun inviting the over 60s - a group planned to be reached by the end of the month.

The number of doses given has been steadily climbing each day - with a current seven-day average of more than 400,000.

The campaign to reach as many people as quickly as possible was boosted by a shift in policy in early January - to prioritise the first dose of a vaccine, with a second dose up to 12 weeks later, a bigger gap than originally planned.

Overall, more than 10 million people have now received a first dose in the UK. More than 500,000 of those have received a second dose. Health Secretary Matt Hancock described it as a "hugely significant milestone" in the national effort against the virus.

This progress means the UK continues to be among the countries with the highest vaccination rates globally.

But within the UK, there is some regional variation - especially between the nations.

Many places have now vaccinated more than 80% of people aged 80 and over.

Gloucestershire has reached the highest proportion at 95%. East London has reached the fewest with just under 70% having had the first dose.

Overall London, is still lagging behind the rest of England.

The speedy rollout of the vaccine to all vulnerable people is seen as critical to reducing the pandemic's death toll and relieving pressure on the NHS.

After the first four priority groups receive their jabs, the programme will move onto people aged 50 and over and those with underlying health conditions.

From spring, the government plans to begin vaccinating the rest of the adult population, another 21 million people. Teachers, transport workers, supermarket workers and the military could be prioritised.

The UK is currently receiving doses of two vaccines approved by the medicine regulator.

The Pfizer-BioNTech jab - the first to be given the green light in December - is being imported from Puurs, Belgium.

A second vaccine, from Oxford University and AstraZeneca, is being made in Britain, by two biotech companies:

Another company, Wockhardt, based in Wrexham, fills the vials and packages them for use.

Supplies of a third vaccine to be approved, made by US company Moderna, will come from Switzerland or Spain but are not expected to be available until spring.

The UK is also lined up to receive at least three other vaccines if they are approved for use.

A jab manufactured by US firm Novavax will be made in Stockton-on-Tees in north-east England, while another by French company Valneva will be made in Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland.

The third by Belgian firm Janssen, owned by Johnson & Johnson, should also be available later this year.

There are a number of challenges in what is called the vaccine "supply chain" - the logistics of how the jab gets from manufacturers to people.

Getting enough supplies in the first place, checking those supplies are up to scratch and transporting vaccines according to their requirements have all thrown up difficulties.

Pfizer has warned the number of doses of its vaccine will be lower than expected this month because the company is upgrading its factory in Belgium in order to increase production in March.

Production of the Oxford vaccine is also two months behind schedule, AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot has told la Repubblica, causing delays to supplies to the European Union. However, the Anglo-Swedish company says it will still be able to meet the demands of its deal with the UK.

On top of supply pressures, the government has also referred to the "rate-limiting factor" of batch testing - the process of ensuring vaccines released by manufacturers are safe and up to standard.

The UK's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) requires vaccines to be checked by the National Institute of Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC) to ensure they are effective, structurally intact and free of contaminants.

This process can take a long time as it has to be done twice - before and after the vaccine enters vials. Ensuring a batch is sterile can take two weeks.

To deal with the challenge, the NIBSC had scaled up its capacity so "multiple batches can be tested simultaneously" and more technical staff are being taken on.

There are also challenges when transporting the vaccines.

While the Oxford vaccine can be stored in fridges and transported in regular refrigerated vans or cool boxes, the Pfizer jab - made from genetic material - needs to be stored at -70C to prevent it from degrading.

This means it needs to be transported in a carefully controlled deep-freeze delivery chain.

People will be vaccinated in three main ways, at:

The government has urged the public to "play their part" in supporting "the largest vaccination programme in British history", including helping people attend their appointments.

In England, more than 1,500 sites, including GPs' surgeries, community pharmacies and hospital hubs, are offering vaccination services.

They also include 90 major vaccine sites which have been set up in larger premises, such as sports centres, racecourses and showgrounds, which are capable of giving jabs to thousands of people a week.

In Wales, the vaccine is being distributed at GP practices and by mobile units. And they hope to have 35 mass vaccination centres up and running in the coming weeks.

In Scotland, as well as GPs surgeries, pharmacies and hospital hubs, there will also be a number of larger vaccination sites, including 16 in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area.

Thousands of people have been trained to deliver the vaccines, with thousands more set to join the effort. The charity St John Ambulance Brigade is among those helping out.

And a further 21 quick-reaction vaccination teams will also be ready to deployed anywhere around the country, commander of military support to the vaccine delivery programme Brig Phil Prosser says.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson says no-one should have to travel more than 10 miles for a jab.

The UK has ordered 407 million doses of seven of the most promising vaccines - three of which have so far been approved for use.

Among them are 100 million doses of the Oxford vaccine - enough to inoculate 50 million people.

This, when combined with the 40 million ordered Pfizer jabs, will cover the entire population, the health secretary has said.

The UK also has significant orders of the newly-approved Moderna vaccine.

But having vaccines on order is not the same as having them ready to go.

Of the 100 million Oxford jabs ordered, only 530,000 were ready for nationwide rollout on 4 January. Although, the government has said this number will rise to "tens of millions" by the end of March.

Pfizer says the number of doses it has sent to the UK is now "in the millions".

The company says that although shipments to the UK will be affected by upgrades to its production process, overall the country would receive the agreed volumes for the first three months of the year.

Of those vaccines still waiting for authorisation, some 60 million doses of the Novavax jab - shown to be 89.3% effective in large-scale UK trials - are set to be made in Stockton-on-Tees.

The first doses of the 30 million Janssen order, which has announced that its single dose vaccine is 66% effective, will be available later this year.

And 60 million of the 100 million Valneva doses on order could start to be delivered by the end of 2021, with the remaining 40 million next year.

Preliminary Valneva results from clinical trials are expected in April.

Design by Lilly Huynh, Irene de la Torre Arenas and Sana Jasemi. Additional reporting by Smitha Mundasad. Regional vaccine map and chart by Daniel Dunford and Wesley Stephenson.

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