The vaccine uptake has remained a success in all East Lancs boroughs, while two-thirds of over 70s in England are believed to be fully vaccinated.

Blackburn with Darwen has seen an uptake of 86.5 per cent, with 50,440 of residents over 45 having had at least one dose.

The highest uptake has again been in the Ribble Valley – 30,598 or 92.5 per cent of over 45s have now had their first dose of the vaccine.

Rossendale and Burnley have both reported a 87.1 per cent uptake in the jab with 29,136 and 34,225 people having had their first vaccine in each area respectively.

Hyndburn and Pendle have both reported the lowest uptake, with 30,964 - 86.4 per cent of people in being vaccinated while in Pendle 34,329 of over 45s, equivalent of 85.1 per cent, have accepted the jab.

The latest figures are based on provisional data from NHS England for vaccinations up to April 18, and use population figures from the Office for National Statistics – which are the best publicly available official estimates.

An estimated 67.1 per cent of people over 70 had received both doses of the vaccine as of April 18.

People aged 70 and over were in the top four groups on the priority list for vaccines, with initial doses offered to over-80s from early December.

Second doses must follow within 12 weeks of the first, meaning people in these age groups yet to have a follow-up jab should receive it within the next few weeks.

In England, 33,257,651 have had their first dose of the vaccine while 11,192,601 are fully vaccinated.