'Significant milestone': UK hits target to vaccinate 15 million most at risk from coronavirus

More than 15 million people in Britain most vulnerable to coronavirus have received a first vaccination dose, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Sunday, hailing the "significant milestone".

"This country has achieved an extraordinary feat, administering a total of 15 million jabs into the arms of some of the most vulnerable people in the country," Johnson said on Twitter alongside a video message.

After becoming the first in the world to approve a vaccine, the British government set an ambitious target to reach care home residents and staff, frontline health and care workers, all those aged 70 or over and the clinically extremely vulnerable.

Also read: Britain reiterates US 'concerns' over WHO COVID-19 mission to China

Britain's vaccination programme is seen as one of few successes in the government's handling of a pandemic in which the country has suffered a higher death toll and worse economic damage than its peers. The UK's total population is about 67 million.

Foreign minister Dominic Raab said on Sky News on Sunday he was confident the government would hit the vaccination target but said it was too soon yet to discuss when restrictions could be lifted.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out on Feb. 22 the government's plans to end the lockdown and has said he wants schools to reopen on March 8.

Raab told the BBC he shared concerns about the level of access given to a World Health Organization COVID-19 fact-finding mission to China, echoing criticism from the United States.

The White House on Saturday called on China to make available data from the earliest days of the novel coronavirus outbreak, saying it had "deep concerns" about the way the findings of the WHO's COVID-19 report were communicated.

Raab also downplayed the risk of the European Union taking business away from the City of London after Brexit, saying the real challenges come from New York, Tokyo and other areas.