Watch: Health Secretary Matt Hancock praises Burnley and Padiham residents for vaccination efforts

In a personalised video message posted by Burnley MP Antony Higginbotham, the Secretary of State said the rollout is going far faster than expected and referenced the amazing efforts of staff and volunteers at Burnley General Hospital, the St Peter’s Centre and the new vaccination hub in Charter Walk.

Praising staff and volunteers alike, Mr Hancock said: “Burnley is ahead of the national average which is brilliant in terms of the rollout.

"My message to everybody in Burnley is that if you get the call, when you get the call, from the NHS, come forward and have the jab.

"And I particularly want to thank Antony Higginbotham, the Burnley MP who’s been working so hard to get that message out that having the jab is good for you, good for Burnley and good for the whole country - because it will help us to get out of this."

Mr Higginbotham MP said: "The vaccination programme is the light at the end of the tunnel and its fantastic to hear that in Burnley and Padiham we're wasting no time and are ahead of the national average in administering jabs.

"It's a huge testament to all of the volunteers, NHS staff, pharmacists, GP staff and so many others who are working around the clock.

"I'm also grateful to the Health Secretary, and Vaccine Deployment Minister, who have been very supportive in ensuring we have the testing sites we need in multiple locations to really drive the programme forward."

So far, the number of residents in Burnley and Padiham to have had the first dose of the Covid vaccine stands at 25,783 accounting for approximately 40% of the local adult population.