LEEDS has reached another milestone in the fight against COVID-19, as the NHS vaccination programme in the city has now passed the one million doses milestone.

The latest figures out today show that local teams have now vaccinated 542,968 people and given 471,405 people their second jab, taking the total to 1,014,373 doses.

Sam Prince, Senior Responsible Officer for the Leeds vaccination programme, said: “Yet another incredible milestone has been reached as a million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have now been given to people in Leeds.

“Reaching this milestone is down to months of hard work from everyone in the NHS, local authority and voluntary and community organisations who have played a role in this and are helping to protect hundreds of thousands of local people.

“Thanks to everyone working together as #TeamLeeds, we’ve been able to offer vaccinations at nearly 50 sites around the city. These have included large sites, including our new purpose built centre at Elland Road which opened last week, as well as GP practices, community pharmacies, a roving bus and pop up clinics in community centres, helping make sure that people have been able to have their vaccinations in their local communities. We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has given up their time to help make this happen – we couldn’t have done it without you.”

Cllr Salma Arif, Executive Member for Public Health and Active Lifestyles for Leeds City Council, said: “Hitting the one million vaccines milestone is a great achievement for the city. It is testament to the commitment and hard work of everyone involved in the vaccination programme across the NHS, the council, the third sector and volunteers who have been involved from day one.

“We have made fantastic progress on our vaccination rollout, ensuring as many people as possible get the maximum protection against this awful virus.

“However, we need everyone to do their bit to help us beat the virus and stop new variants developing, especially now restrictions have been lifted. We're urging everyone in Leeds to get their vaccination as soon as possible to help to protect both themselves and others. COVID can affect anyone, young as well as old, so don't risk your health - or losing the new freedoms that the vaccination programme has brought for everyone."

You can book your vaccination atwww.nhs.uk/covidvaccinationor by calling 119. Or if you prefer, there are a range of drop-in clinics across the city where you can walk in and grab your jab. Details are available at www.leedsccg.nhs.uk/health/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine/walk-in-clinics/