Half the British population has now had their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine with daily vaccination rates reaching record levels, it has been announced.

By last Friday 26.8 million people had been vaccinated – with another million receiving doses over the weekend. Health secretary Matt Hancock acknowledged that shortages would lead to a slowdown next month – but said the UK would meet its objective of vaccinating all adults by the end of July. There have been reports of the EU blocking exports of vaccines to the UK. Mr Hancock said the UK was about to add the Moderna vaccine to its armoury. Yesterday the vaccination programme achieved new records, vaccinating more than 700,000 people in one 24 hour period.

Mr Hancock said: “Vaccinating over half of all adults is a phenomenal achievement and is testament to the mammoth efforts of the NHS, GPs, volunteers, local authorities and civil servants in every corner of the UK.It shows the strength of the Union and what can be achieved when we work together as one United Kingdom to protect those most at risk. But the job is not done yet. During April, we will continue to vaccinate those most at risk and around 12 million people will receive their second doses as well.”

Royal College of GPs chair Professor Martin Marshall said: “The hard work of GPs and our teams, along with colleagues across the NHS, to deliver the COVID-19 vaccination programme has been outstanding and ensured that vulnerable patients across the UK are protected from this terrible virus.

“It is excellent news that half the UK adult population – 26.8m people – have now received the first dose of the vaccine, with around 75% of these vaccinations taking place in primary care. This is an incredible milestone and the efforts of GPs and our teams have been pivotal to achieving it in such a short space of time, and despite the complexities and challenges of delivering a new vaccination programme on such a large scale. However, the hard work is far from over, and as long as there is supply, GPs and our teams will continue to vaccinate. Getting vaccinated is the best protection we have against this virus, and our best hope of getting back to a more normal life.”

NHS England primary care director Dr Nikki Kanani added: “Thanks to careful planning and the huge efforts of NHS vaccinators, volunteers and everyone working behind the scenes, the roll-out of the NHS vaccination programme – the biggest in health service history – continues to be a huge success.Their efforts meant the NHS had vaccinated half of all adults in England by Thursday, and as a GP and a vaccinator, it is source of great pride that we have now reached that major milestone across the whole of the UK.”