When is Boris Johnson's press conference later and what will he say?

Boris Johnson will hold a Downing Street press conference at 5pm on Thursday.

The prime minister will appear alongside NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens.

Johnson is expected to update the nation on the progress of the coronavirus vaccine rollout.

It comes on the same day as GPs in England begin the mass rollout of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

Watch: Boris Johnson says we are in a race to vaccinate the most vulnerable

The vaccines are being delivered to sites across the country as the government commits to offering a vaccine to more than 13 million people in the top four priority groups by mid-February.

It is hoped that around 1,000 sites will be delivering vaccines by the end of the week.

The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is easy to administer given it can be stored at normal fridge temperatures, unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech jab which requires storage at -70C.

Seven mass vaccination centres will also open next week in London, Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Surrey and Stevenage.

Some 1.3 million people have already received either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford/AstraZeneca jab, with updated figures expected on Thursday.

The development comes after the UK on Wednesday reported a further 1,041 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for COVID-19 – the highest daily reported total since 21 April.

Hospitals are facing rising numbers of seriously ill patients. As of Monday, there were 30,451 people in UK hospitals with coronavirus, much higher than the April peak of 21,684.

Watch: What you can and can't do during England's third national lockdown