More than 3.5 million people have received a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine in the UK, surpassing the number who have tested positive for the virus, according to British government data, CNN reported.

The head of the National Health Service in England, Simon Stevens, said on Sunday than more than half of those aged 80 and above have had the first dose.

Stevens said someone is being admitted to hospital with the virus every 30 seconds.

The UK has the highest coronavirus death toll in Europe, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University, with 81,800 dead.