Half of all South West adults receive first Covid vaccine
More than half of the adult population in the South West has received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
New figures show that 2,338,891 people have had their fist dose - 51.7% of the adult population in the region.
It comes following the news that the national target to vaccinate all adults in the UK could be reached before the original goal at the end of July.
An increase in supplies of the vaccine has led the Government to 'double up' efforts on the front line, with the new goal of giving twice as many people the jab as before.
60,000 doses were handed out in the West Country yesterday (March 14), the third highest since the beginning of the vaccination program and the most jabs in one day in the region since February 6.
Steve Double, who is the MP for St Austell and Newquay but also serves as a member of Health Secretary Matt Hancock's team, told ITV News the increase in supply means younger people can begin receiving their first dose as vulnerable groups continue to secure their second.
He said: "There's been a lot of management put into the supply of the vaccine to make sure we are able to deliver that second dose.
"We are expecting the supply of vaccine to increase in the next few weeks, so I still think although we will we making sure people get the second does, we will still expect to see decent numbers of people getting the first dose as we continue down the age scale."
NHS England wrote to vaccine sites, GP surgeries and pharmacies warning of the expected spike.
The letter read: "Every site should expect to be able to receive, and use swiftly in each of these weeks, around twice the level of vaccine supply previously available with precise details to be confirmed shortly on a site-by-site level."
The new target is for all adults in the UK to be invited for their first dose of the vaccine by early June.
Read more: