More than a third of young adults have not been jabbed in most England cities

More than a third of young adults in most cities in England have not had a first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, new analysis shows.

These include Liverpool, where an estimated 47.2% of 18 to 29-year-olds are still unjabbed, Manchester (44.0%), Leicester (42.4%), and Leeds (39.1%).

In two cities more than a half of young adults have not received any vaccine: Birmingham (52.1%) and Coventry (50.2%).

The figures have been calculated by the PA news agency based on the latest data from NHS England, which covers vaccinations delivered up to August 25.

A host of initiatives have been launched in recent weeks to encourage take-up among young adults, including special “pop-up” vaccination clinics, mobile vaccine hubs at festivals and sporting events, and discounted rides and meals for customers who have received a first dose.

An estimated 2.4 million 18-29 year-olds across England remain unvaccinated, however.

This is down slightly from 2.5 million a week ago.

Some 71.8% of young adults in England have now received their first dose.

This is a higher percentage than in Northern Ireland, where an estimated 69.0% of 18-29 year-olds have had one jab, but lower than the equivalent figures for Scotland (73.9%) and Wales (76.2%).

In total there are 58 local authority areas in England where more than a third of young adults are estimated not to have been jabbed.

Other cities on the list include Nottingham (45.6% of 18-29 year-olds without a first dose), Newcastle (42.6%), Sheffield (39.5%) and Bradford (37.5%).

Some 15 of the 58 areas are London boroughs, ranging from Croydon (33.6% of young adults unjabbed) to Islington (46.8%).

Further attempts to encourage vaccine take-up among young people will be made over the bank holiday weekend, with pop-up clinics at the Reading and Leeds festival.

Earlier this week a new NHS video was released, featuring three previously healthy people in their early 20s and 30s, in an effort to show the impact of long Covid.

People aged 18 to 34 make up more than one in five of those admitted to hospital with coronavirus, which is four times higher than the peak in winter 2020, the NHS has said.

Meanwhile, new research suggests the vaccine rollout in England is estimated to have directly averted between 102,500 and 109,500 deaths.

Previous estimates had put the figures between 91,700 and 98,700 deaths.

Estimates for the number of hospital admissions directly averted by the vaccination programme are unchanged, at more than 82,100, according to Public Health England.

Published: 26/08/2021 by Radio NewsHub