Crawley continues to benefit from Covid-19 vaccine as rollout reaches significant milestone

Henry said: “Thanks to the continued success of our vaccine programme, and the efforts of people in Crawley and around the country, we’re making huge progress in emerging from this pandemic.

“Vaccines remain our best defence against the virus, and the case for getting vaccinated has never been clearer, which is why I’m encouraging everyone when they get invited, to get the jab.

“I’m grateful for the dedication of our key workers, the NHS, Britain’s armed forces, and the communities and volunteers working every day to deliver the vaccine in Crawley and nationwide.”

SEE ALSO 13 English councils breach WHO 5% threshold for positive Covid tests ahead of planned 21 June lockdown end date | Number of confirmed Indian variant cases in Crawley revealed | Covid cases more than double in a week across West Sussex

More than 75 per cent of adults across the UK have received their first dose, while over half of all adults have now received their second dose. With everyone aged 30 or over being offered a vaccine, the Government remains on track to meet its target of offering every adult a vaccine by the end of July.

102,193 vaccines have been administered in Crawley to date, including to 39,300 people who are now fully vaccinated – giving them the maximum possible protection against the virus.

To give those most at risk the greatest protection possible, the Government is accelerating the delivery of second doses by reducing the period between the two courses from eight weeks to twelve and will launch a booster programme in the autumn – backed by 60 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

In just under six months since the world’s first approved vaccine, the Pfizer vaccine, was administered in the UK, Britain’s vaccination programme is already having a significant impact in reducing hospitalisations and deaths, saving more than 13,200 lives in England alone.

Thanks to the efforts of the Vaccine Taskforce, the UK has secured more than 500 million vaccines for this country, including over 210 million doses of the Pfizer, Oxford-Astrazenca and Moderna vaccines which are currently being deployed in the fight against the virus.

None of this could have happened without the remarkable and heroic efforts of our NHS, our key workers, our armed forces and communities and volunteers across the country, who are working together to deliver the vaccine and save lives.

The Health & Social Care Secretary, Matt Hancock, commented: “I am incredibly pleased that over three quarters of UK adults have had their first dose. This is an incredible step forward in the largest and most successful vaccination programme in our history.

“Although we’ve come so far in less than six months since the world’s first authorised jab was given in the UK, our vital work is not done. We must redouble our efforts on the second dose to ensure as many people as possible have maximum protection.

“We’ve brought forward appointments from 12 to eight weeks for a second dose, and all over 30s are now eligible for the jab. I encourage everyone to come forward when the offer comes and play a part in getting us back to normality.”