Prime Minister Boris Johnson has provided an update on the rollout of the vaccine across the UK and set out plans and priorities for the coming weeks.

Speaking at a Downing Street press conference on Thursday afternoon (January 7), Mr Johnson revealed how many people in the country have received the vaccine so far.

He also spoke about the Government's plans to vaccinate every care home resident by the end of the month and the role the Army will play in helping the NHS.

Here are five updates on the rollout of both vaccines across the UK, based on today's press conference also attended by the Chief Executive of NHS England and the Commander of Military Support to the Vaccine Delivery Programme.

1. Nearly 1.5m have received the jab

Almost 1.5 million people have now been vaccinated across the UK, Mr Johnson said.

The figure includes 1.26 million people in England, 113,000 in Scotland, 49,000 in Wales and 46,000 in Northern Ireland.

The Prime Minister also said that thanks to the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, which can be stored at room temperature, he hopes every care home resident will receive their first dose by the end of January. 

2. The Army is ready to help

Although he acknowledged that there will be "difficulties" in the rollout of the vaccine, the PM said that the Army has been drafted in to assist with the set-up.

“Let’s be clear, this is a national challenge on a scale like nothing we’ve seen before and it will require an unprecedented national effort,” he said.

“Of course, there will be difficulties, appointments will be changed but … the Army is working hand in glove with the NHS and local councils to set up our vaccine network and using battle preparation techniques to help us keep up the pace.”

3. A 'huge acceleration' is coming

NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said there will be a “huge acceleration” in the vaccination programme over the coming weeks.

Sir Simon said they had 39 days to meet the target set by the Prime Minister to vaccinate the most vulnerable.

He said they would be increasing the supplies of the vaccine, the numbers of places where it is being delivered and the numbers administering the jabs.

He said the “bulk” of the vaccinations would be carried out at GP surgeries and pharmacies, but that the number of hospital hubs and large-scale vaccination centres were also being increased.

4. More details will come on Monday

The “exact” details of how the Government plans to hit its mid-February target of vaccinating the four top priority groups will be revealed by Health Secretary Matt Hancock on Monday, the PM said.

In the meantime, he urged people who are invited to get their jab to come forward.

Mr Johnson said: “You can make a huge difference if you reach all those (priority) groups but we do depend on people coming forward.

“I really do urge people, when you get notification, when you get a message from the NHS, from your doctor, saying you’re eligible for a vaccine, please take it.”

5. There will be attempts to tackle disinformation 

Sir Simon Stevens said particular attention would be paid over the next four or five weeks to groups where there has been “some targeted misinformation, including some of the minority ethnic communities across the country who have been really disgracefully targeted with nonsense about vaccination”.

Despite this, he said, evidence from this year’s flu vaccination programme is that uptake of the Covid-19 vaccine is “likely to be high”.