Just one in five young teenagers vaccinated against Covid in Mansfield

In Mansfield, 21 per cent of those aged 12-15 have been jabbed – 1,028 out of a population of 4,897, based on a mid-2020 population estimate by the Office for National Statistics – placing the district 124th in a list of the 350 local authorities across England and Scotland.

Ashfield is in the top 40, ranking 36th, with 36.8 per cent of youngsters vaccinated – 2,202 out of a population of 5,986.

In Newark & Sherwood, the figure is 22.7 per cent, ranking the district 109th, with 1,276 out of 5,628 young people vaccinated as of October 17.

Barking and Dagenham was the lowest-rated authority, with just 4 per cent of youngsters vaccinated, compared with 63 per cent in Dumfries and Galloway, which is leading the way.

Uptake

Across England, just 15 per cent of those aged 12-15 had received their first jab by October 17 – compared with 47.4 per cent across Scotland.

Colin Angus, senior research fellow at the School of Health and Related Research at the University of Sheffield, said the difference in uptake across the two nations was down to the way the vaccines were being rolled out to youngsters in the age group.

In Scotland, vaccines are being delivered in the way they are for adults – while in England they were being managed in schools.

However, Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced yesterday that 12 to 15-year-olds in England would also be able to arrange a Covid vaccine through the national booking service.

Mr Angus said: “While hospitalisation and even death from Covid in young people is thankfully very rare, increased vaccine uptake should help to reduce transmission rates in these age groups, bringing overall case numbers down and reducing the risk of infection being passed on to older, more vulnerable groups.”

In a joint letter to parents of secondary school and college pupils last week, Mr Javid and Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi told parents vaccines are the best defence against Covid-19.

They wrote: “They help protect young people, and benefit those around them.

“Vaccination makes people less likely to catch the virus and less likely to pass it on.”

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