Third summer of love ahead as all UK adults could be vaccinated by April and May
The UK has up to 10 million extra vaccines meaning adults could receive a jab sooner than thought
We could be on the way to a third summer of love as festivals sell out, clubs announce mammoth reopening parties and adults in the UK receive the covid vaccination as soon as April and May.
The government had set out to vaccinate all adults by July. A recent report by the Office for Budget Responsibility then updated this to June. Now assessments of the NHS' vaccination capabilities point toward April and May.
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The i reports that 10 million extra vaccinations are available in the UK and will start to be given out this week.
This means that the NHS can increase the rollout of second doses without slowing down on first time jabs. It's predicted that all over 50s could receive their second jab by the end of March, with all over 40s receiving a vaccination in April and the 30-39 age group beginning to receive their jabs by the end of that month. The 18-29 bracket will receive doses from May.
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The OBR report predicted that the rate of vaccinations would speed up if the UK administered four million jabs per month starting in March. This is set to happen from Thursday which is when the NHS will make the first of its extra 10 million vaccinations available and this "surge" of jabs could exceed all initial predictions.
This is all good news for clubs and festivals, which can currently reopen from June 21.
It's also a boost for the Ibiza season – Spain is looking to welcome tourists with a vaccine passport from May and the Balearic islands are keen to be among the first places in Europe to reestablish safe travel.
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