More than 70,000 over 70s living in west Hertfordshire received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine by February 14, NHS figures show.

NHS England shows 70,998 over 70s in the Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group area had their first jab by Valentine's Day.

This means around 95 per cent of the over 70s population in the Herts Valleys area which covers Watford, Hertsmere, Three Rivers, St Albans, and Dacorum, have had at least one dose of the vaccine.

Newer figures, released yesterday (February 18), show 322,286 people across the whole of Hertfordshire and west Essex have received their first dose of the vaccine in one of over 40 vaccination sites.

So far, a total of 180,866 (95 per cent) over 70s in Hertfordshire and west Essex have received their first dose, alongside tens of thousands of health and care workers and patients who are clinically extremely vulnerable.

The NHS East and North Herts CCG says all care homes for older people in Hertfordshire and west Essex have been visited by vaccination teams and those who are housebound have been contacted and offered the vaccine at home.

Credit: PA

Credit: PA

Dr Jane Halpin, chief executive of the Hertfordshire and west Essex Clinical Commissioning Groups, said: "We’re incredibly grateful for this immense team effort from everyone involved in the vaccine programme.

"In a short space of time, we’ve already protected hundreds of thousands of our most vulnerable residents.

"We’re looking forward to building on this success and giving the first dose to thousands more patients in the weeks and months ahead, as well as making sure that people get their second doses on time."

In this next phase, GPs have been asked to offer jabs to people with underlying health conditions, while people aged 65 and over will be invited to book a vaccination at one of the large vaccination centres.

If somebody aged 65 to 69 wants to be vaccinated at their local GP-led site, they can wait to be called by their local GP practice.

Anyone in Hertfordshire who has booked their Covid vaccination but is unable to make their own transport arrangements can get help through a service that has been put in place by the East of England Ambulance Service, Hertfordshire County Council and local NHS clinical commissioning groups.

People can call 0300 790 6254 (Monday-Saturday, 9am-5pm) to ask for support to get to their appointment but only once an appointment has been secured with the NHS.

Watford Observer:

Meanwhile, a total of 16,875,536 people in the UK have now received a first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, according to Government figures published on February 19.

This is the equivalent of 25.3 per cent of the total UK population, and 32 per cent of people aged 18 and over.

The latest weekly number of coronavirus cases in Hertfordshire is lower in some places than it was in November.

The latest rates can be found below, with the table showing how it compares to the previous three months.

Although cases are way down, West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust is still regularly reporting deaths of patients who died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19.

There have been more than 50 recorded in February, and that followed more than 250 deaths in January, which was higher than the 249 recorded last April.

The trust has now recorded 862 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began, according to the latest NHS England data.