Half of all adults in Britain have now received at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose, becoming the world’s first major economy to hit that milestone, Reuters reports.

Health minister Matt Hancock said on Twitter the figure had been reached after a record 660,276 shots were administered on Friday.

“The vaccine is a national success story and our way out of this pandemic,” said Hancock, adding that he was “delighted”.

Israel is the leader in vaccinating its population, followed by the United Arab Emirates, Chile and then the United Kingdom — and investors are watching closely to see which economies could recover first.