Why has the UK vaccine rollout slowed and which countries have overtaken it?

Published

4 years ago

September 13, 2021

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At the start of 2021, the UK coronavirus vaccine rollout was one of the fastest in the world.

While the European Union launched legal action over supply shortfalls and several member states battled widespread vaccine hesitancy, by 20 March, Britain was handing out more than 800,000 doses a day.

But now it has fallen to 13th in the rankings of percentage of population vaccinated, with just 63.8% double jabbed.

And EU countries such as Malta, Portugal, Spain, Ireland, and Belgium have now overtaken, as their rollouts gain momentum and the UK loses pace.

Here Sky News looks at why the UK COVID vaccine rollout appears to have slowed down.

Children not included in UK count so far

The government’s chief medical officers only agreed to start offering the vaccine to all 12 to 15-year-olds on 13 September.

This means that until that rollout begins, a significant part of the population will not appear in vaccination statistics, putting the UK behind other countries who have been immunising schoolchildren such as Portugal and Ireland.

Dr Al Edwards, of the University of Reading’s school of pharmacy, described the concept of the UK’s rollout being ‘behind’ as “artificial”.

“In the UK we started vaccinating the really vulnerable groups first and that has had a really significant effect,” he told Sky News.

“The benefit of vaccination is different for different age groups,” he said.

“So any country that can vaccinate their most vulnerable 30% will have huge benefits because that will help prevent serious disease and death.

“When you get to between 30 and 60% those benefits become marginal.

“And then when you get to around 80%, you are really just arguing about the benefits, because they have significantly diminished.”

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Professor Andrew Preston, of the University of Bath’s department of biology and biochemistry, added that avoiding lockdowns and being able to live with the virus matters more than the numbers.

“The end game of the vaccine programme was never to vaccinate 100% of the population, it was to overcome the pandemic”, he told Sky News.

“Vaccinating children will boost the numbers, but it all depends on whether we can move back to a pre-COVID existence or not – whether that’s by vaccinating 20%, 40% or 60% of the population.

“We need to move away from just looking at the percentage vaccinated and instead at what we are actually achieving in terms of this moving towards being an endemic virus in future years.”

Tough restrictions on unvaccinated in Europe and elsewhere

Malta has vaccinated more of its population than any other country.

One of the reasons for this is its tough restrictions on those who are unvaccinated.

Since the beginning of July, people can only remove their face masks in public places if they’ve been double jabbed.

This can be proven by an official Maltese vaccine certificate or the EU ‘digital pass’.

Although France’s vaccine programme is still behind the UK’s, it has caught up significantly since the introduction of its ‘health pass’ in late July.

Its daily vaccination rate almost doubled in the weeks following, with nearly eight million getting their first dose in the first six weeks.

People now have to show a health pass to go to cafes, bars, restaurants, museums and other indoor spaces.

Similar digital passes have been introduced across Europe and beyond and have helped boost vaccination rates.

In the UK however, the government has rejected the idea of vaccine passports apart from in nightclubs and says it will only bring them in more widely if hospitalisations rise this winter.

“Other countries seem quite happy to use a more authoritarian system without batting an eyelid,” Professor Preston said.

“Italy, for example, have their green pass and it seems to be working, but here we have a very vocal minority defending those civil liberties.”

UK vaccine messaging is ‘wearing off’

Vaccine uptake in the UK is still lowest in the under-30s.

Only 48.9% of 18 to 24-year-olds and 51.8% of 25 to 29-year-olds had received two doses in England by 12 September.

Although they were last to be offered a jab, the government promised to have invited everyone over 18 to get their first by mid-July and shortened the gap between first and second from 12 to eight weeks.

Professor Sharifah Sekalala, an expert in public policy and global health at the University of Warwick, says the overall vaccine rollout has suffered from a lack of engagement with young people.

“Because of the way we banded ages at the beginning, and we reopened before they were vaccinated, people of university age feel as though their vaccinations are not as important as others,” she told Sky News.

“There has been very little consultation with them. They don’t see their GPs as much as the rest of the population, so very little community work has been done and we need to do more to address that,” she said.

Professor Sekalala also claims public messaging on the vaccine has slowed down in general, particularly with regards to underprivileged groups.

“If we’re comparing ourselves to Europe, we have massive social inequalities already, so more community work on vaccines is required,” she said.

“But it’s wearing off – it was very strong in the beginning – but now some people just think it’s all done because we’re not talking about it anymore.”

UK

Reform took advantage of the PM’s holiday – and it’s clear he’s now changed strategy

Published

4 hours ago

September 2, 2025

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Reform took advantage of the PM's holiday - and it's clear he's now changed strategy

Immigration was the first thing on the government’s agenda to kick off the first week back from recess, and they wanted you to know it.

The home secretary gave an update to the House, announcing a shakeup of family reunion rules for asylum seekers, even before some backbenchers had made it back to parliament from their break.

Facing criticism for being on the back foot after a summer of protest outside asylum hotels, they were keen to defend their record and get back on track – but is it too late?

It’s a clear nod to the political void Reform UK has seized on while the prime minister has been on holiday.

Last week, Nigel Farage unveiled his party’s mass deportation policy – though the issue of women and children still seems to be worked out.

But perhaps none of that matters as voters overwhelmingly believe Reform cares about this issue – and as Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, pointed out on Monday, voters have lost confidence in the government somewhat to solve what many see as an immigration crisis on their doorstep.

So it’s clear the strategy has changed from the government.

Gone are the bold slogans of “smashing the gangs” and instead, detail and policy was given on Monday. It was nothing new, but more substance on what the government has done and where they want to move to. Even controversially, reassessing their relationship with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

The biggest update though, was on their one-in-one-out policy agreement with France, which will now set to start returns later this month.

It’s finally hit home for the government that the public want proof not just rhetoric, and they want to know crucially when they will start to see change.

But the fightback, the reset, whatever the government wants to call it, will only make a difference once that finally starts to work.

UK

Police ask for help with unsolved murder more than 50 years ago

Published

4 hours ago

September 2, 2025

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Police ask for help with unsolved murder more than 50 years ago

Police are asking for help with an unsolved case, 52 years after the murder of a schoolboy in Belfast.

Brian McDermott was 10 when he disappeared from Ormeau Park on Sunday 2 September 1973. His remains were recovered from the River Lagan almost a week later.

Detectives from the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Legacy Investigation Branch have given a timeline of events as part of their appeal.

Brian left his home on Well Street in the lower Woodstock Road area of east Belfast at around 12.30pm and failed to return for his Sunday dinner.

Detectives said he was last seen playing alone in the playground between 1pm and 3pm that afternoon.

His remains were recovered in the water, close to the Belfast Boat Club.

A PSNI spokesperson said: “We are acutely aware of the pain and suffering that Brian’s family continue to feel, and our thoughts very much remain with the family at this time.

“Despite the passage of time, this murder case has never been closed and I am hopeful that someone may be able to provide information, no matter how small, which may open a new line of inquiry, or add a new dimension to information already available.

“It is also possible that someone who did not volunteer information at the time may be willing to speak with police now. Legacy Investigation Branch Detectives will consider all investigative opportunities as part of the review into Brian’s murder.”

UK

Premier League flexes its financial muscle in record-breaking transfer window

Published

4 hours ago

September 2, 2025

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Premier League flexes its financial muscle in record-breaking transfer window

The transfer window was a show of strength in a record-breaking summer across the Premier League.

The totaliser crept over £3bn in spending, with more than half of it flowing among the 20 clubs rather than having a redistributing effect across Europe.

The start of new Premier League TV deals – the biggest individual source of income being from Sky News’ parent company Comcast – provides certainty for the next four years, while rival leagues can struggle to sell rights.

And the feared threat from Saudi Arabia has not materialised. It is an attractive and lucrative destination for some players, but not yet the ultimate destination.

But the kingdom has still influenced this transfer window.

Let’s start with Newcastle, four years into their ownership by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.

Having secured a return to the Champions League, bringing UEFA riches, this was the summer to grow rather than lose talent to rivals.

But the Premier League’s pecking order became clear when Alexander Isak pushed for a move to Liverpool and rejected bids that did not deter his ambitions.

Player power won out.

The 25-year-old striker was able to withdraw himself from the squad, miss the opening three matches of the season, and put out a statement claiming promises had been broken by the Magpies.

Liverpool ‘loading up on talent’

And so he held on until deadline day, biding his time, sitting it out, and standing firm. Newcastle folded, accepting £125m – £20m lower than their apparent valuation.

Breaking the British record fee was Liverpool’s American ownership flexing financial muscle like never before.

The Premier League champions allowed manager Arne Slot to build from a position of strength.

This was the second time they broke the record in this window after bringing in another forward, Florian Wirtz, in a £116m deal.

More than £400m in reinforcements arrived at Anfield in a matter of weeks.

Former Liverpool managing director Christian Purslow told Sky Sports: “Liverpool are making hay while the sun shines, going for it. Really loading up on talent.

“Other clubs should be fearful and respectful of the way [Fenway Sports Group] are running their club.”

The Isak deal weakened their Champions League rivals from the North East after banking £57m from another club owned by the Public Investment Fund when Darwin Nunez was offloaded to Saudi.

And PIF funded Chelsea’s summer spending spree in less obvious ways.

The Blues did negotiate a £44m package with PIF-backed Al Nassr deal for Joao Felix, recouping the fee paid just a year earlier.

But then there was the £90m prize money collected for winning the new FIFA Club World Cup – a competition bankrolled by PIF subsidiaries.

Where does this leave Newcastle? Still spending around £250m.

Players and Liverpool couldn’t get all their way this summer, with Marc Guehi forced to stay at Crystal Palace after the FA Cup winners failed to secure a replacement for the England centre-back.

The late drama was just the latest of the summer transfer window’s twists and turns.

Both Arsenal and Manchester United also spent more than £200m each. The Gunners spent big in pursuit of a title that’s eluded them since 2004, while the Red Devils are just trying to get back into the Champions League.

It added up to a new record total outlay that comfortably eclipsed the previous Premier League record of £2.46bn from 2023.

The £3bn is more than the rest of Europe combined, showing both where the power is in world football and why the Premier League is the one the world wants to watch.