COVID-19: UK vaccinated over 4.6 million in one month

After a slow start, France has started up COVID-19 vaccinations for people over 75 and those who are expected to high risk for COVID-19 to speed up vaccinations.

Italy has vaccinated almost over a million people while Spain is encouraged to have 70% of the population vaccinated by the summer.

The UK's Matt Hancock held a press convention on Monday night to announce that Britain has so far given an initial vaccine dose to 4.6 million people, pointing out that this product was "double the rate per person per day than any other country in Europe."

"Don't blow it now," Hancock warned. "We're on the route out."

Meanwhile, six European countries branded by the Pfizer announcement of delays as "unacceptable" calling on Brussels to ensure "transparency and stability".

A spokeswoman for Pfizer Denmark established on Friday that in order for the company to reach its two billion shares target for the year, facilities at its plant in Puurs, Belgium, must be adapted which " are requiring new quality tests and approvals from the authorities".

"As a consequence, fewer doses will also be available for European countries at the end of January and the start of February," she added.

Health ministers from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden wrote in a joint letter to the European Commission following many announcements that "this situation is unacceptable."

"Not only does it impact the planned practice schedules, it also decreases the credibility of the started vaccination process," they added.

They are calling on the various bloc's health commissioner put pressure on Pfizer "the need to ensure stability and clarity of timely deliveries".

The delay will impact every European country. Institute of Public Health (FIH) said in a statement that "this means that in week 3 we will receive 7,800 fewer doses than Pfizer had previously reported".

It added that it will be ready to "pay for this reduction in deliveries with the emergency stockpile" it has created.

A French governmental source told that the authorities will revise its vaccination strategy "as soon as France knows the exact level of future deliveries". It added that the suspension will not impact "the overall deployment of the opposition battle" because the country "had anticipated potential delays".

France, which has so far got about 1.5 million doses, by Monday it had vaccinated 422,000 people. It targets 1 million in protection by the end of the month.