North Yorkshire and York vaccination numbers hit 333,000 as people urged not to fear AstraZeneca injection

Some 333,000 doses have now been given across the region as of yesterday, where a milestone was also reached at the Askham Bar site in York which saw its 100,000th vaccine given.

21,000 people have now been given a second dose of either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine.

In North Yorkshire, 188,000 people have received a first dose and 18,000 have had both doses of the vaccine.

In York, 144,000 first doses have been given, with 8,500 second doses administered.

Health bosses confirmed the region is on target to have all over 50s in the region vaccinated by the 15th April.

And the public were urged to take the AstraZeneca injection if it is offered to them.

It came as Boris Johnson said he is due to have his Covid-19 vaccine shortly and it will "be Oxford/AstraZeneca".

In a show of support for the jab, which more than a dozen European countries have stopped using, the Prime Minister told MPs: "I think perhaps the best thing I can say about the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine programme is that I finally got news that I'm going to have my own jab very shortly, I'm pleased to discover...

"It will certainly be Oxford/AstraZeneca that I will be having."

His comments came as the number of people to have received a first dose of Covid-19 vaccine in the UK passed 25 million.

Amanda Bloor, accountable officer for York's clinical commissioning groups, said: "We would urge people to come forward when invited, but anyone with any concerns should come forward when asked to and express them to a healthcare professional at the site.

"Please do book your appointment and get your vaccine, this will give us the greatest chance of keeping cases at bay."

There are currently 96 patients in hospital with coronavirus across North Yorkshire and York, with 23 in intensive care.