Boris Johnson and Joe Biden: global access to vaccines key to defeating Covid-19
26 March 2021, 21:56
The Prime Minister and Joe Biden have discussed the rollout of coronavirus vaccines in a call this afternoon.
Downing Street said Boris Johnson and the US president agreed global access to jabs will be key to defeating the pandemic.
They also said combatting climate change would be a "crucial component" in the aftermath of the crisis.
A Downing Street spokesman said: "The leaders discussed the fight against coronavirus and updated each other on their countries' vaccine rollouts. The Prime Minister stressed that global access to vaccines will be key to defeating the pandemic.
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"The Prime Minister and president agreed that combatting climate change will be a crucial component of building back better from the pandemic."
They also both reiterated their "shared commitment to protecting the Good Friday Agreement" and the Prime Minister said he looked forward to welcoming Mr Biden to Cornwall for June's G7 summit, No 10 added
The US hit a record number of vaccines administered today.
The number of vaccine doses administered across the US on Friday hit 3.38 million.
The figure was revealed by White House COVID-19 Data Director Dr Cyrus Shahpar.
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In England, a total of 27,166,754 Covid-19 vaccinations took place between December 8 and March 25, according to the latest data, including first and second doses. It represents a rise of 456,256 on the previous day.
NHS England said 24,940,005 were the first dose of a vaccine, a rise of 258,050 on the previous day, while 2,226,749 were a second dose, an increase of 198,206.
NHS England data shows a total of 3,301,334 jabs were given to people in London between December 8 and March 25, including 3,012,718 first doses and 288,616 second doses.
This compares with 4,843,981 first doses and 371,376 second doses given to people in the Midlands, a total of 5,215,357.
