All over-50s could be vaccinated against coronavirus in the UK by the end of March, the Government has claimed.
It comes as the mass rollout is expected to be doubled in pace next week and figures show more than three million people have already received the jab.
A senior Whitehall source told the Times Number 10 is ‘increasingly confident’ all 32 million over-50s could receive their first vaccine dose by mid to late March.
Ministers vow they will hit Boris Johnson’s target of immunising the 15 million most vulnerable people in the country by mid-February.
A document published by the Scottish government, but then removed, suggests as many as 3.8 million people could be vaccinated next week in the UK, indicating a doubling of the current rate.
But the Government is attempting to keep the plans under wraps amid fears other countries will demand more doses and put further pressure on vaccine manufacturers.
‘It’s insane,’ a Government source said, ‘The figures were given to the Scottish government in strictest confidence. It could undermine the entire programme.’
NHS England said last night that 248,177 vaccinations had been given on January 13 – taking the total to 2,910,027 for England alone.
Of these, 2,494,371 were the first dose of the vaccine, while 415,656 were the second dose.
But the accidentally published document suggests this will be dramatically exceeded next week, when Scotland is due to receive 309,382 doses.
If deliveries are evenly spread across the country as they have been so far, this would equate to 3.8 million, which is more than 500,000 per day.
Scotland is set to receive 443,531 doses a week by the end of February, suggesting 5.4 million will be delivered to the whole of the UK.
But data suggests there will be two weeks when there is no Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine available, reportedly due to supply issues.
The Mail also reported yesterday that the UK has a stockpile of around 21 million jabs to give out, which could easily meet the promise of immunising all of the most vulnerable people in the population.
Under phase one of the vaccination programme, all over-50s and people with serious health conditions will receive the injection.
Ministers have promised that by the middle of February, the top four of the nine groups in phase one – the most vulnerable – will have been vaccinated.
It is hoped everyone in phase one will have received the jab by the spring.
Mr Johnson tweeted: ‘Superb news that we’ve administered over three million vaccine doses across the UK.
‘Thank you to all who have responded to the call and to the NHS, Armed Forces and volunteers who make it happen. It brings real hope, but it’s critical that for now we #StayHomeSaveLives.’
It comes after the Department of Health decided last night up to 2,000 people working in crucial roles producing the Covid-19 vaccine will be offered the vaccine.
It is hoped this will ensure there will be no delays or disruption to the supply chain.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.