UK’s Covid infection rate plunges lower than 25 of 27 EU nations as cases fall 28% in a week after vaccine rollout

THE UK'S Covid infection rate is lower than 25 of 27 EU countries after the success of Britain's vaccine rollout.

The daily case numbers in the UK have slumped by 28 per cent in a week, official figures show.

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The UK is now the best-placed major European nation as a third-wave wreaks havoc on the continent.

France has seen cases triple since early February to nearly 60,000 cases a day, with doctors in overwhelmed hospitals forced to choose which Covid patients get a ventilator.

Emmanuel Macron last night declared a four-week national lockdown and warned France is likely to "lose control" amid a surge in coronavirus cases.

The French President has blamed the UK Kent variant for the explosion in cases, with the weekly infection rate around eight times higher than in the UK. 

FRANCE LOCKDOWN

In a televised nationwide address , President Macron said the "epidemic is accelerating" and warned France is likely to "lose control" as infections spiral.

Germany's infection rate is nearly three times higher than the UK's, with 23,681 cases recorded on March 30.

The UK has seen an average of 73 daily cases per million people over the past week.

Only two EU countries - Denmark and Portugal - have lower case rates.

Hungary is the worst hit EU nation, with the daily rate soaring to 882 cases per one million people.

France's seven-day average is 571, with Netherlands 449 and Italy's 334.

As the pandemic sends Europe into meltdown, UK cases, deaths and hospitalisations have dropped to a six-month low.

Yesterday, there were 43 deaths - a 56 per cent week-on-week drop on last Wednesday's deaths -. and 4,052 cases.

UK deaths are now averaging averaging 50 a day, down from the peak of 1,284 deaths on January 19. 

Almost six in ten adults in the UK have received at least one dose of the vaccine, with the EU figure only around 11 per cent.

Europe's chaotic vaccine rollout has seen Germany this week ban the AstraZeneca jab for under-55s over blood clot fears.

The shock decision comes days after France, Italy and Germany resumed their rollout out of the AstraZeneca vaccine after the EU finally declared it safe.

The trio's humiliating U-turn had come after all three countries led the way in suspending use of the jab amid an unfounded safety scare about the link with blood-clots.

And today the European Medical Agency again ruled the AZ jab safe despite Germany slapping a ban on using it on under 55s.

But a staggering 99.25 per cent of Brits have turned up to their second jab appointments so far, The Sun has revealed.

Ministers say April will be the “second dose month”, as the UK flew past the 30.9 million milestone of first doses - with millions needing their second jab after 12 weeks.

Despite a torrent of fake news about the jabs, Brits have voted with their feet, queuing up for their second doses with barely any cancellations in a major snub to loud mouthed EU chiefs.

The thumping endorsement for the Oxford AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines flies in the face of dangerous fake news pumped out by France’s reckless President Macron.

Meanwhile, NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens has urged urging over-50s and younger people who don't have health conditions to book a vaccine appointment.

This month, the NHS is set to power on with its second dose rollout and jabs for all over-50s.

Tuesday saw the number of second doses of Covid-19 vaccine outnumber first doses for the first time.

Some 270,526 second doses were jabbed into arms on March 30, compared to 224,590 first dose

Altogether, 4.1million people in the UK are now fully vaccinated against Covid, around one in 13 adults.