Over 21M vaccine doses distributed across England

By Muhammad Mussa

LONDON (AA) - The number of vaccinations administered throughout England continues to rise, with over 21 million doses having been distributed, said official new figures on Saturday.

Data published by the Public Health England and the National Health Service showed that nearly 21.2 million vaccine doses were administered to patients with coronavirus between Dec. 8 and March 12, an increase since Friday of 389,230.

Some 20.1 million of the does were first doses, up 312,716, while just over 1 million were second doses, up 67,514.

By the end of Saturday, nearly 23.7 million people had gotten their first dose of the vaccine, with 1.53 million having gotten the second. Some 35.5% of the population have now received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Despite the rising rate of vaccinations throughout the country, the rate of declining infections has slowed even further, giving rise to concerns that the declining rate could be flat-lining, with a possible spike as the UK begins to reopen.

A total of 5,534 people on Saturday tested positive for the virus – a 5.5% fall compared to the last seven days – bringing this week’s total to 40,477.

And 121 deaths were reported within 28 days of testing positive for the virus. Between March 7 and March 13, there were 1,045 deaths within 28 days of testing, down nearly one-third from the previous week.