The United Kingdom, which has had one of the fastest rollouts of the COVID-19 vaccination in the world, on Sunday moved up the target date for every adult to get at least the first of two shots of the vaccine by the end of July — a month earlier than previously targeted.
The government of Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson also announced Sunday it hopes to have every U.K. resident over 50 and those with special health problems fully vaccinated with both shots by April 15, two weeks earlier than originally projected.
Mr. Johnson’s government received heavy criticism early on in 2020 for its initial response to the coronavirus, but it has proven unexpectedly quick to approve vaccines and distribute them to the general public.
The expedited schedule comes despite production problems that have slowed vaccination programs across Europe.
Britain, which no longer is part of the European Union, has sped up its initial vaccination rates by delaying the second of the two-shot inoculation process by up to 12 weeks, instead of the three- or four-week gap favored by U.S. and EU regulators.
Despite the production problems faced by Britain’s two vaccine suppliers — Pfizer and AstraZeneca — British Health Secretary Matt Hancock told reporters in London Sunday that officials “now think we have the supplies” to meet the earlier target dates.
More than a third of the U.K.’s adult population — more than 17 million people — have received at least one vaccine shot so far.
Buoyed by the new projections, Mr. Johnson is scheduled to reveal on Monday a “roadmap” for Britain to start lifting travel, shopping, entertaining and other restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Britain to date has reported more than 120,000 deaths related to the global pandemic, the highest death toll of any European country.
• David R. Sands can be reached at dsands@washingtontimes.com.
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