UK says more than 20 million vaccinated

"A magnificent achievement for the country."

That's how British Health Secretary Matt Hancock described the UK's vaccination effort on Twitter Sunday, after more than 20 million people across the UK received a COVID-19 vaccine.

Britain has rolled out Europe's fastest COVID-19 vaccination program, raising the prospect of a lifting of its current lockdown restrictions between now and the end of June.

The country also reported a further 6,035 cases within the previous 24 hours, and 144 more deaths within 28 days of a positive test.

The latest figures meant cases over the past seven days were down 21.2% compared with the previous seven-day period, and deaths were down 33.5%.

Officials advising the government said on Friday that certain occupations will not jump to the head of the queue in the second phase of Britain's COVID-19 vaccination rollout, with people instead prioritized by age.