All other regions of England have given their first dose to more than nine in ten of the over 80s, with 98.9 per cent in the South West given a vaccine by February 28.
But in terms of second jabs, London has now fully vaccinated the highest proportion of over 80s – at 15 per cent – affording that smaller number of people greater protection.
The lowest is in the Midlands – at 9.7 per cent – a rise of half a percentage point from the previous week.
Among younger age groups, almost a quarter of people under 70 have now received their first jab in the North West (23.4 per cent), with more than one in five (20 per cent) having received their first dose in every English region except London.
All of the doses given so far have been for the Government’s first set of priority groups – a total of 32m people that includes everyone over the age of 50 as well as all frontline workers and people with underlying conditions that make them highly vulnerable Covid-19.
The nine groups are below – and it is the people within the first four groups, comprising 15m people, that the Government is aiming to offer doses to by mid-February:
- Residents in a care home for older adults and staff working in care homes for older adults
- All those 80 years of age and over and frontline health and social care workers
- All those 75 years of age and over
- All those 70 years of age and over and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals (not including pregnant women and those under 16 years of age)
- All those 65 years of age and over
- Adults aged 16 to 65 years in an at-risk group
- All those 60 years of age and over
- All those 55 years of age and over
- All those 50 years of age and over
On February 26, the Government endorsed recommendations from its scientific advisers for the UK’s vaccination rollout to continue by age once the top nine priority groups are complete, with those aged 40 to 49 next in line for jabs.
The Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisations (JVCI) had pointed to evidence that suggested an age-based approach would be the best way for the UK to avoid more Covid-19 hospitalisations and deaths.
When those in their forties have been offered a jab, the rollout will then move to those aged 30 to 39 and then those aged 18 to 29.
Read more: From transmission to efficacy, the Oxford, Pfizer and other Covid vaccines compared
How this compares globally
A fast pace of dose giving so far means the UK stands relatively strong in the international rankings of vaccinations.
So far the UK is ranked 4th in the world, according to statistics compiled by Our World in Data, a team of statistical researchers based in Oxford.