More than 37 million Britons have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while second jabs have now exceeded 21 million.

Wednesday saw another 264,858 first inoculations administered across the UK, taking the total to 37,250,363, and 369,018 people went to their follow-up appointment to take the number fully vaccinated to 21,239,471.

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Meanwhile, the UK has reported another seven coronavirus-related deaths within 28 days of a positive test.

There have also been another 2,874 confirmed case of COVID-19.

That compares with three deaths and 2,696 cases on Wednesday, and 11 deaths and 2,657 infections last Thursday.

Since the pandemic began, 127,701 people in the UK have died within 28 days of testing positive for coronavirus, and there have been a total of 4,455,221 laboratory-confirmed cases.

Coronavirus case rates in most regions across England have either fallen slightly or remain broadly unchanged, according to the latest weekly surveillance report from Public Health England (PHE).

But there remains some concern about the spread of the Indian variant after it was revealed in parliament on Wednesday that almost 3,000 cases had now been detected in the UK.

Surge testing will be deployed in Bedford, Burnley, Hounslow, Kirklees, Leicester, and North Tyneside, where the vaccination rate will also be ramped up.

England’s deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, has said Britain is in a “straight race” to vaccinate its population in order to outrun the threat of the Indian variant.

He said the jab rate over the next few weeks would be crucial for ensuring Boris Johnson could lift all lockdown restrictions on 21 June, as set out in the government’s roadmap.

In more encouraging news, new NHS England data suggests that around four in five people aged 60 and over have received both doses of vaccine.

And the programme is again moving down the age groups, with more than one million people aged 34 and 35 set to receive a text by the end of Friday asking them to come forward for their first jab.

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