Almost all of Cheshire's over-70 population have had their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

The latest data from NHS England, released on Thursday (February 18), shows that 117,387 residents aged 70-plus have had their first dose of a vaccine, out of a over-70 population of 119,773 — representing a 98 per cent success rate.

Such is the progress of the scheme in Cheshire, it was revealed that supplies to the area were being redirected to other parts of the UK so they could 'catch up'.

The NHS England data also shows that 2,666 over-70s had had both doses, as of February 14.

75,372 under-70s have received their jab, with 3,320 having both inoculations.

It means that 198,745 vaccines have been delivered in Cheshire, and 664,491 have been completed in the Cheshire and Merseyside sub-region.

Today (Friday), Cheshire West and Chester Council Leader, Louise Gittins 'guesstimated' that nearly 100,000 jabs have been administered in the borough, and congratulated vaccination teams on their 'great work'.