UK's 'Herculean' vaccine target can be achieved, minister says

Johnson has set a target of vaccinating the elderly, including care home residents, the clinically vulnerable and frontline workers - around 14 million people - by mid-February. Asked if it was achievable to vaccinate 14 million people by the middle of February and 2 million vaccinations each week by the end of this month, Minister for COVID Vaccine Deployment Nadhim Zahawi said it was. He said that 1/4 of people over 80 years old had been vaccinated with their first shot.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's "Herculean" aim to vaccinate around 14 million of the most vulnerable people against COVID-19 by the middle of next month is achievable, his vaccine minister said on Wednesday. Johnson has set a target of vaccinating the elderly, including care home residents, the clinically vulnerable and frontline workers - around 14 million people - by mid-February.

Asked if it was achievable to vaccinate 14 million people by the middle of February and 2 million vaccinations each week by the end of this month, Minister for COVID Vaccine Deployment Nadhim Zahawi said it was. "It is a Herculean effort," he told Sky, adding that it was stretching but deliverable. He said that 1/4 of people over 80 years old had been vaccinated with their first shot.