People can look forward to a ‘great British summer’ thanks to the continued success of the Covid-vaccine programme, the Health Secretary has said.

Matt Hancock says confidence is high that the vast majority of adults in the UK will have had the vaccine within six months.

Around 9.4m people have now had their first jab in the UK and the Government insists it remains on course to have started vaccinating the elderly and most vulnerable by mid-February.

And with nearly 600,000 jabs being dished out on Sunday, Mr Hancock is hopeful the UK will see some semblance of normality return by the summer.

Speaking on BBC Politics East yesterday, he said: “In six months we will be in the middle of, I hope, a happy and free great British summer.

“I have a high degree of confidence that by then the vast majority of adults will have been vaccinated.

“That is not just the clinically vulnerable groups but then going to all groups, people like me - I'm in my 40s and healthy and we will have got though everybody.

“That will give a high level of protection.”

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Mr Hancock did however warn it would be a “tough few months” between now and summer as the vaccine rollout continues.

He added: “We have to follow the data, you have to see the impact of the vaccines on the ground.

“It’s that difficult balance – we’ve got to move as fast as we can but in a way that keeps people safe.”

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Mr Hancock’s words come as NHS England figures are expected to show on Monday that people living at more than 10,000 care homes with older residents had been offered their first vaccine doses, meeting the deadline set by the Government.

A “small remainder” were said to have had their visits deferred for safety reasons during a local outbreak but these will be visited “as soon as NHS staff are allowed to do so”.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “Today marks a crucial milestone in our ongoing race to vaccinate the most vulnerable against this deadly disease.

“We said we would prioritise and protect care home residents, and that is exactly what we have done.”

But he added that there will be “difficult moments to come”, with the number of infections and individuals in hospital still “dangerously high”.