England’s fast rollout of Covid-19 vaccines prevented over 10,000 deaths of people aged 60 and older by the end of March, according to an analysis by Public Health England, Reuters reports.

England experienced a peak in infections, hospitalisations and deaths in January, but the toll would have been even worse without the rapid vaccination programme that began on Dec 8, according to the study.

Over 15 million doses of vaccine were given to adults aged 60 and over in England by the end of March, preventing an estimated 10,400 deaths, mostly among those aged 80 and over, Public Health England said.