England’s health service said it expected to have offered the Covid-19 vaccine to residents at every care home with older residents in the nation, in what British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called “a crucial milestone”.

Johnson said earlier this month that the government hoped to complete the vaccination programme for care home residents and workers by the end of January to try to stop the spread of coronavirus which earlier in the pandemic ripped through such homes.

In a statement, England’s National Health Service said it had offered a shot to people living at more than 10,000 care homes with older residents while a small remainder have had their visits deferred during a local outbreak, Reuters reported.