Millions of people in the UK missed having their second coronavirus vaccine dose by the time they were due to have it, data has suggested.
Figures published by the UK government show that by August 18th, a total of 1.4 million people who were due to have their second Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine had missed having it, analysis by the PA news agency shows.
For the Oxford/AstraZeneca intake, between 400,000 and 600,000 people also eligible for their second dose by that date had not come forward.
The latest breakdown of figures, published by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency but taken from UK Department of Health and Social Care statistics, said that up to August 18th, about 16.6 million have had their Pfizer/BioNTech second dose while 23.9 million had their second Oxford/AstraZeneca dose.
As a result of the UK government changing the rules on how long people need to wait in between doses, people who had their first vaccines on and before May 26th and June 23rd were eligible to receive a second jab on or before August 18th.
For people who had the Pfizer vaccine, 14 million first doses were given on May 26th and 18 million first doses were given by June 23rd.
But by August 18th, 12 and eight weeks later, only 16.6 million had jabs.
With the AstraZeneca vaccine, 24.3 million people had their first jabs on May 26th and 24.5 million had their first dose on June 23rd.
By August 18th, only 23.9 million had their second doses.
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care told PA more people have now come forward and had their vaccines since the data was published by the MHRA on Thursday.
They added: “Almost nine in 10 people in the UK have now received one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and the latest ONS data reports that 98 per cent of adults who received their first dose have said they are likely to have their second dose.
“Getting two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine is the key to protecting yourselves and your loved ones and enjoying a host of new freedoms safely, whether that be to enjoy a trip abroad with family or a night out with friends, as we continue to build our wall of defence.
“The benefits of the vaccines against Covid-19 continue to outweigh any risks.
“The vaccines have already saved around 105,900 lives and prevented 24.1 million infections in England up to 20th August, according to the latest data from Public Health England and Cambridge University.”
