The United Kingdom has within 24 hours vaccinated 711,156 citizens thereby setting a world record for the COVID-19 jab.
Vaccinations minister Nadim Zahawi stated that Britain on Friday vaccinated a total of 711,156 jabs given to people across the UK.
The AP reports that 589,675 of those vaccinated were first doses and 121,481 were second doses.
The previous record was set on Thursday when a total of 660,276 doses were administered – 528,260 first jabs and 132,016-second doses.
Earlier, Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced that half of all adults in the UK have now had their first dose of the coronavirus vaccination.
Describing it as a “milestone” moment, he said in a video tweet: “I am delighted to tell you that we have now vaccinated half of all adults in the United Kingdom.
“It’s a huge success and I want to say many, many thanks to all those involved including half of all adults who’ve come forward.”
He added: “It’s so important because this vaccine is our way out of this pandemic, so when you get the call, please, come forward and get the jab and join the majority of adults who’ve now been jabbed.
“The UK vaccination programme is a big success story. It’s down to the hard work of many, many people.
“This isn’t easy but we’re making massive strides.”
Meanwhile, the Government said a further 96 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Saturday, bringing the UK total to 126,122.
Separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies for deaths where Covid-19 has been mentioned on the death certificate, together with additional data on deaths that have occurred in recent days, show there have now been 148,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK.
The Government also said that as of 9 am on Saturday, there had been a further 5,587 lab-confirmed cases in the UK, bringing the total to 4,291,271.
