91Èȱ¬

All adults in the UK will be offered their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine by the end of July,

The promise was made by prime minister Boris Johnson, who said he wants the UK's vaccination programme to "go further and faster".

More than 17 million people have already been given a jab since the UK started vaccinating people in December 2020.

The number of cases of coronavirus has been falling in recent weeks and experts believe that the programme is working.

NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said there were "early signs" the vaccine rollout was contributing to a fall in the number of people needing hospital treatment.

The prime minister is due to hold a meeting later with his ministers about how to start bringing England out of lockdown.

A full plan is expected to be presented on Monday.

The government's previous target was to offer all adults their first vaccine dose by September.

But, Mr Johnson said he hopes the plans to vaccinate all adults will help the UK come out of lockdown, adding that he wanted more vulnerable people to be protected "sooner".

Around 17.2 million people in the UK have received their first dose of a vaccine.

Around 1,500 vaccination sites across the country are being used in the effort, and almost 600,000 people have already received their second dose.

That means the top priority groups, those who are most vulnerable to the virus, have all been offered the jab in England and Wales.

Mr Johnson said: "Hitting 15 million vaccinations was a significant milestone - but there will be no let up, and I want to see the rollout go further and faster in the coming weeks.

"We will now aim to offer a jab to every adult by the end of July, helping us protect the most vulnerable sooner, and take further steps to ease some of the restrictions in place."

He added, however, that the "route out of lockdown" would be "cautious and phased".