Forex Trading For Beginners 2021: Covid: New phase begins after first vaccine target hit in England

The Covid-19 vaccine rollout in England has entered a new phase, after the prime minister said the most vulnerable groups had all been offered a jab.

Wales has also offered the vaccine to those top four priority groups - and the PM is expected to say the target has been met across the UK later.

In total, more than 15 million people in the UK have had their first dose.

The rollout in England is now being officially expanded to the over-65s and younger people in at-risk groups.

It is 69 days since the UK began its mass vaccination programme - and six weeks since Boris Johnson said he hoped "with a fair wind in our sails" to be able to offer a first dose to the four priority groups by 15 February.

That meant vaccinating all elderly care home residents and their carers; everyone over 70; all frontline health and social care workers; and everyone with a condition that makes them extremely vulnerable to the virus - a total of 14.6 million people.

Mr Johnson said it was an "extraordinary feat" to have been able to offer a vaccine to all these groups in England and Wales and the country can go forward "with great confidence".

But while the UK's vaccination rate is third in the world, behind only Israel and the United Arab Emirates, there have been reports that some people in priority groups - including those who are housebound - are still waiting for their first dose.

As well as the over-65s, the next group to be offered the vaccine is the estimated 7.3 million people aged 16 to 65 with a range of health conditions that put them at risk from the virus.

It includes people with chronic heart disease, liver disease, kidney disease, diabetes, severe lung conditions, dementia and Down's Syndrome.

Adult carers of disabled people with these conditions, and younger adults in care homes, are also part of this group.

The rollout will then be extended to the remaining over-50 age groups, with the aim of offering a first dose to another 17.2 million people before the end of April.

Vaccine timeline shows when priority groups are predicted to get their vaccines

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that 90% of the over-70s had accepted the vaccine - a "much higher uptake than we could possibly have hoped for".

One in four adults was now starting to receive protection against Covid-19, he said.

The Department of Health says 88% of the UK's coronavirus deaths occurred in the priority groups who have now been offered the vaccine.

A small number of the 15 million people vaccinated will have been outside these initial priority groups, however, as some NHS regions had already begun giving jabs to younger people.

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Paying tribute to the "heroes" giving vaccine doses across the country, Labour's shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said it was crucial for ministers to "lock in the gains of vaccination".

He said that meant further reducing the spread of the virus by offering "decent" financial support for self-isolation, new guidance on mask-wearing, and help for workplaces to be Covid secure.

"We have already seen the virus mutate, it's urgent more is done to reduce its spread while vaccination continues at pace," he said.

With the expectation that increasing numbers of people will be protected from serious illness, ministers will this week finalise plans on how England's coronavirus measures can be eased, ahead of the prime minister setting out a "road map" out of lockdown next week.

The government has said it will take "cautious" steps, rejecting calls from Conservative MPs to commit to abolishing all Covid-19 restrictions by the end of April.