LONDON, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged that every adult in Britain will be given a jab of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of July, local media reported Sunday.

"We will now aim to offer a jab to every adult by the end of July, helping us protect the most vulnerable sooner, and take further steps to ease some of the restrictions in place," Johnson told Sky News.

The British government has previously set a target to offer vaccines to all adults by September.

According to Johnson, people aged 50 and over and those with underlying health conditions will now be offered a jab by April 15.

More than 17.2 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.

"But there should be no doubt -- the route out of lockdown will be cautious and phased, as we all continue to protect ourselves and those around us," he said.

Johnson's announcement came as he is set to unveil his "roadmap" exiting the current coronavirus lockdown on Monday. It is widely expected that schools in England would start to open on March 8.

England is currently under the third national lockdown since outbreak of the pandemic in the country. Similar restriction measures are also in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Johnson has said he would take a "prudent" approach to lift the lockdown to ensure the process is "irreversible".

Another 10,406 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,105,675, according to official figures released Saturday.

The country also reported another 445 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain stood at 120,365. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines.