SOUTH Tees MPs have praised the UK vaccine programme as the latest official figures prove Teesside has not been left behind.

Almost a third of all residents in Redcar and Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland residents have received their first jab.

Simon Clarke MP and Jacob Young MP welcomed the latest figures showing that 30.9 per cent of residents in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland and 29.5 per cent in Redcar have received their first jabs.

Middlesbrough Constituency doesn't fall far behind with 27.8 per cent vaccinated. In Stockton North 27.2 per cent of residents have received a first dose and in Stockton South, 26.5 per cent.

The figures put the rollout across Teesside ahead of areas such as Manchester Central which stands at 11.6 per cent and Newcastle Central at 18.2 per cent.

In total, more than 19.3 million doses have been administered to over 18.6 million people across the United Kingdom.

The UK vaccine programme is averaging more than 2.5 million doses a week, with new targets to offer the vaccine to everyone in the top nine priority groups by 15 April, and the rest of the adult population by the end of July.

The Government’s Vaccines Delivery Plan is the biggest vaccination programme in British history and sets ambitious targets as the government continues to ramp up its vaccine rollout.

The United Kingdom is leading the way with its vaccination programme. So far, more than 18.6 million people have received a vaccine.

This is the third highest per capita in the world, behind only the UAE and Israel. In addition, only two countries have administered more doses than the United Kingdom - China and the USA.

Everyone in the top four priority groups has now been offered a vaccine, as invites are now going out to those in priority groups 5 to 9.

The latest figures now show that two thirds of those aged 65 to 69 have now been vaccinated.

Mr Clarke and Mr Young have welcomed the Prime Minister’s roadmap to take cautious steps out of lockdown, guided by data, not dates. Mr Clarke said: “The latest figures are proof that we in Teesside are not being left behind in the vaccine rollout."

"As the Prime Minister said during his recent visit to our region, we really are 'shooting the lights out' when it comes to vaccinating our population.

"I want to heap praise on everybody who has been involved in this monumental effort. At this rate, we're in a fantastic position and well on course to have everybody over 50 or with an underlying health condition vaccinated by mid-April."

Mr Young said: "The NHS vaccination programme, the biggest in our country’s history, truly is a national success story which showcases the very best of collaboration across the entire United Kingdom.

"I would like to thank everyone involved in this enormous effort, without whom, this would not be possible - particularly our Primary Care staff who have done the bulk of Community Vaccinations.

"It’s great to see that so many people across Teesside have received the vaccine as we lead the world in our fight back against coronavirus.

“We are defeating this virus by the hundreds of thousands of jabs going into people’s arms every day, giving us hope as we look to a route back to normality."