Covid cases rising as vaccine rollout appears to be faltering

The prime minister may have lauded the UK’s vaccine rollout as “faster than any other major economy in the world” in his speech today.

But now infections are rising again while the vaccine rollout seems to be faltering.

New Covid infections are highest among school children, but so far only 6.5 per cent of 12 to 15-year-olds in England have taken up offers of a jab.

The latest 24-hour government figures show there have been another 39,851 new cases in the UK, the highest number in a month.

Another 143 people are reported to have died with Covid.

That brings the total number of deaths within 28 days of a positive test to 137,295.