IN PICTURES: ‘MP jabbed by another MP’ in UK first

The MPs were at Blackburn Cathedral where thousands of people from across Lancashire have already been vaccinated.

Mr Evans was guided through it by volunteers and nursing staff, in a process that lasted less than 10 minutes.

Ribble Valley MP Mr Evans joked: “I have heard of politicians stabbing one another in the back but I have never heard of them stabbing them in the arm. So, that’s a first.”

He went on to thank Mr Stephenson and all the other volunteers in Blackburn and throughout the country adding: “It is an amazing success.”

Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson said he would be volunteering at the weekend helping with the vaccination process.

He added: “People coming to be vaccinated are really upbeat. Volunteers are really happy to be here. The message is when you get the call. When you get the text. Book in and take up this offer.

“I urge everyone to get the jab when called. Every jab makes a difference in our battle against Covid.”

A total of 20,807,385 Covid-19 vaccinations took place in England between December 8 and March 11, according to provisional NHS England data, including first and second doses, which is a rise of 281,073 on the previous day.

Of this number, 19,798,473 were the first dose of a vaccine, a rise of 211,393 on the previous day, while 1,008,912 were a second dose, an increase of 69,680.

The coronavirus reproduction number, or R value, across the UK is between 0.6 and 0.8, according to the latest Government figures.

R represents the average number of people each Covid-19 positive person goes on to infect.
When the figure is above 1, an outbreak can grow exponentially, but when it is below 1, it means the epidemic is shrinking.

An R number between 0.6 and 0.8 means that, on average, every 10 people infected will infect between six and eight other people.

The latest growth rate is between minus 7% and minus 4%, which means the number of new infections is shrinking by between 4% and 7% every day.