Covid: Two-thirds of over 80s in northern England receive first jab amid regional differences
Around two-thirds of people aged 80 and over in northern England have now received their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, while regional uptake varies by up to 17%,
For north-east England & Yorkshire the figure stands at 67%, while for north-west England it is 64%, according to NHS England data for the period up to January 17.
By contrast, 50% of people aged 80 and over in London have had their first dose. The figure is 53% in eastern England.
Regional percentages in full:
North-East England & Yorkshire - 67%
North West England - 64%
South West England - 61%
Midlands - 60%
South East England - 58%
Eastern England - 53%
London -50%
Public Health Scotland said 334,871 people had received the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine by 8.30am on Thursday January 21, an increase of 24,962 from the previous day.
It added that 4,466 people have received the second dose, an increase of 296.
Which area has seen the highest vaccination takeup?
Some 85% of people in Gloucestershire aged 80 and over have received their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, new data suggests – the highest for any sub-regional area of England.
Provisional figures from NHS England show the number of first doses broken down by what are called ‘STPs’ (sustainability and transformational partnerships), each of which contains a number of local authorities, NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups.
There are 42 STPs covering the whole of England, and figures show that up to January 17 Gloucestershire STP had the highest proportion of people aged 80 and over who had received their first vaccine dose, followed by Northamptonshire (78%) and Hereford & Worcestershire (76%).
The STPs with the lowest proportions were Suffolk & North East Essex (36%) and Nottingham & Nottinghamshire Health and Care (43%).
How case rates appear to be falling
Recent data also showed that Covid-19 case rates have fallen in every region of England,
A report from Public Health England shows that although London continues to have the highest rate of any region, the spread of coronavirus has slowed down there.
London’s rate of new cases stood at 629.7 per 100,000 people in the seven days to January 17, down from 935.1 in the previous week.
London continues to have the highest rate of any region.
Yorkshire & the Humber continues to have the lowest rate: 246.6, down from 307.1.
Case rates in England are falling among all age groups, Public Health England said.
The highest rate continues to be among 20 to 29-year-olds, which stood at 647.3 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to January 17, down week-on-week from 923.2.
Among 30 to 39-year-olds, the rate dropped from 804.9 to 628.4, and for 40 to 49-year-olds, it fell from 712.1 to 575.0.
For people 80 and over, the rate has fallen from 622.6 to 515.1.
Among children aged below four-years-old the rate rose slightly from 180.1 to 184.7.
Public Health England's findings follows evidence that the spread of coronavirus did not decline before week two of England's latest lockdown.The latest React study, from Imperial College London and Ipsos Mori, states that during the initial 10 days of the lockdown in England, "prevalence of coronavirus was very high with no evidence of decline".
Researchers also found that the prevalence of Covid-19 across England increased by 50% between early December and the second week of January.