Nearly nine in 10 of Cheshire and Merseyside's over-75 population received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine by the end of last month.

That's according to the latest weekly data released by NHS England this afternoon (February 4).

The data (up to January 31) shows that 89.1 per cent of those aged over-80 have had one dose, while jabs have reached 85.1 per cent of residents between 75 and 79.

The news comes a week after Clare Watson, Accountable Officer of the NHS running Cheshire's roll-out said she was 'confident' targets would be met.

The NHS Cheshire CCG representative said: "It's really good progress. Everyone is working incredibly hard but also they're incredibly committed.

"We have really challenging deadlines but we are confident with the modelling and work we are doing that we will hit those.

"This is all dependent on the availability of the vaccine, but we are on track."

Although the NHS' focus remains giving as many people their first doses, 13.7 per cent of over-80s have had both measures.

Just over four in ten Cheshire and Merseyside residents (40.4 per cent) aged 70-74 have got the opening portion of the immunisation.

Earlier today, Cheshire East council leader Sam Corcoran revealed that 'some areas' of his borough 'have already moved on to vaccinating those under-70'.

The NHS England information shows that 439,242 vaccine doses have been administered in our region.

Elsewhere in the north west, Lancashire and South Cumbrian officials have given 91.8 per cent of over-80s their first dose, and 86.5 per cent of that demographic have had that in Greater Manchester.

Yesterday, the government announced that more than 10 million people had received their first jab of a Covid-19 vaccine across the UK.