Wales overtakes England for percent of eligible people to receive first Covid-19 vaccination

Wales has overtaken England to become the UK nation with the highest percent of eligible people who have received a first vaccine dose against Covid-19.

22.77% of Wales’ population has been vaccinated, compared with 22.63% in England.

32,625 people had their Covid vaccine in Wales yesterday, meaning that 589,622 people have now had the jab in Wales.

It represents a quick turnaround since two and a half weeks ago when Wales was lagging behind Northern Ireland, Scotland and England for the per cent of the eligible population vaccinated.

BREAKING: #Wales now LEADS the UK nations for the total number of *eligible people* who’ve had a first vaccine against #COVID19!

This shows just how fast the rollout has become. Wales was last in the UK back on the 20th Jan – and that’s mainly down to the hard work of the NHS!💉 pic.twitter.com/EFV5xbbp1t

— Peter Gillibrand (@GillibrandPeter) February 7, 2021

The eligible population includes those over 16 and those under 16 with underlying health conditions.

The news came as a further 28 people died in Wales with Covid-19, bringing the total to 4,989. There were also 461 new Covid infections reported.

Since the start of the pandemic almost half the population of Wales, or 1,552,904 people, have been tested for Covid-19.