Covid vaccinations breaks weekly record in NHS East region

A pop-up vaccination centre has opened at the Sir John Leman High School in Beccles, Suffolk

A record number of coronavirus vaccinations have been administered in the East of England, the NHS said.

NHS England said 601,023 doses of the vaccine against Covid-19 were delivered in the region in the week of 13-19 December.

It said it broke the previous record of 441,861.

Tiffany Hemming, vaccination lead for the NHS in the East of England, said it was "truly incredible".

She said the figure included 555,846 booster jabs, and more than 17,500 people had their first dose in the past week in the region.

"It's never too late to get vaccinated," she said.

"Hundreds of thousands of people across the region have responded to the message from the NHS - please don't wait around to get vaccinated."

NHS England said 601,023 vaccinations were delivered in the eastern region between 13 and 19 December

The NHS said on Saturday and Sunday alone more than 200,000 vaccination doses were administered in the eastern region, the largest number in a weekend.

It said bookings had also opened for 12 to 15-year olds to get their second Covid-19 jab.

The NHS East of England region covers Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Milton Keynes, Norfolk and Suffolk.

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In Beccles, a school that had closed for the Christmas holidays has reopened as a pop-up vaccination centre for booster jabs until 23 December.

It will close for Christmas but reopen on 27 December until 29 December.

The facility at the Sir John Leman High School said it could vaccinate 1,000 people a day.