Forex Trading For Beginners 2021: Covid-19: 'Battle not over' amid jab campaign for under-50s

A new campaign is being launched to encourage younger people to get the Covid vaccine when their turn comes, as the rollout continues down the age ranges.

The Department of Health has released a series of photos documenting the NHS's largest-ever vaccination programme.

They show vaccines given in care homes, cathedrals, museums and stadiums.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said 45.5 million doses had been administered so far, but "the battle is not yet over".

More than 12 million people have now received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, while 33.5 million have had at least one dose.

It means half the entire UK population, estimated at 66.7 million, have now received a first dose.

The UK recorded another 2,061 confirmed cases on Saturday and a further 32 deaths.

The latest campaign aims to encourage under-50s to take the vaccine, following research that suggests younger people are more likely to be hesitant.

Although 94% of all adults in the most recent survey by the Office of National Statistics felt positively about the vaccines, about one in eight 16 to 29-year-olds said they were hesitant, the highest such finding among all age groups.

Vaccine hesitancy is also higher among black people and people in more deprived areas, although the numbers saying they are hesitant has been falling in every group, the survey suggested.

Among the people caught on camera in the photo project was 25-year-old Alice Tooley, who was vaccinated early in the rollout because of her frontline work with vulnerable adults for a refugee charity.

As younger people get invited to have their jab, she said: "I hope they jump at it the way I did so, as a collective, we all play our part in getting back to a more normal way of life."

Documentary photographers and filmmakers set out across the UK in February and March to capture the immunisation programme in action, travelling to hospitals, mobile vaccination units, care homes and some of the more unusual vaccination sites such as Salisbury Cathedral and the Science Museum in London.

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Photojournalist Jude Palmer said it had been a privilege to document the "smiles, laughs, nerves, and sighs of relief as we get one step closer to a more normal way of life".

Among the people they photographed was Dr Gavin Chestnutt, a GP at Ballycastle Medical Practice, who took his vaccine supplies on the ferry to Rathlin Island - Northern Ireland's most northerly point - to immunise the community there and ensure the elderly population did not have to travel in bad weather.

Dr Gavin Chestnut vaccinating a man on Rathlin Island

Dr Chestnutt, who is also a part-time farmer, was photographed vaccinating a 92-year-old man in his back garden, looking out over the coastline.

The 42-year-old said it had been an honour to witness people's "physical relief" as they were protected from Covid-19.

"Most overwhelming has been to see how grateful everyone has been for getting their vaccine and finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel," he added.

Government statistics show 127,417 people have now died, up 32 in the latest 24-hour period. In total 4,403,170 people have tested positive, 2,061 up on the previous day. There are 1,781 people in hospital. In total 33,508,590 people have received their first vaccination, up 119,953 in the latest 24-hour period. Updated 24 April.

Meanwhile, a group of 22 anti-lockdown scientists and academics has written an open letter calling for face masks and social distancing to end in June.

The letter, published in full on the Daily Express website, says more weight should be given to the success of the vaccines and less to what they call the "theoretical" risk of new variants or a new surge in infections.

It also urges the government to scrap plans for vaccine passports, along with mass community testing in favour of a more targeted approach.

BBC health correspondent Katharine Da Costa says many of the signatories had previously called for lockdowns to be abolished in favour of shielding the vulnerable, a strategy strongly criticised by the wider scientific community.

The government has already said it hopes to end all legal limits on social contact in England on 21 June at the earliest and the prime minister has said there is nothing in the data to suggest this will not be the case.

But some scientists have suggested people could still be asked to wear face coverings and socially distance for several years until other countries complete their vaccination programmes.