More than 1,000 people in the borough have been given the Covid-19 vaccination.

Leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, Cllr Darren Rodwell, made the announcement in a coronavirus update on Tuesday, December 29.

Cllr Rodwell said: "Some good news. We have given over a thousand vaccinations now to residents and frontline workers in the NHS."

GP practices in Barking and Dagenham started issuing the injections on December 15.

READ MORE: V-Day: East London residents get first Covid-19 vaccine

News of the jabs total followed on the heels of a warning from the town hall's leader about the need for people to get tested and self-isolate.

Cllr Rodwell urged sixth formers, Year 11 pupils and college students in particular to be tested.

In his weekly, online Covid-19 update he also commented on scenes of ambulances queued up in the car park at Queen's Hospital.

Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, which operates Queen’s Hospital and King George Hospital, has admitted it is facing “significant pressure” to treat all Covid patients.

Cllr Rodwell explained that Queen's and King George have a total of 949 and 450 beds respectively.

He said: "The truth is though that that's reduced because of Covid and the way they have to operate so it's not that many beds."

He said there are 771,000 people in Barking and Dagenham, Redbridge and Havering, urging people to "do the maths".

"The issues are real and they are only going to get worse unless people start listening to the advice being given. We know it's tough. There is support there," Cllr Rodwell said.

A total of 1,106 cases per 100,000 people were reported in Barking and Dagenham from December 17-23, according to government figures.

It is the fourth highest total in the capital after Havering (1,290/100,000); Redbridge (1,160/100,000) and Bexley (1,121/100,000).

A Covid-19 vaccine from Oxford University and AstraZeneca has been approved for use in the UK, with the first jabs expected to be given on Monday, January 4, according to the PA news agency.

The jab, which has been described as a "game changer", was given the green light by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).