How Covid vaccine roll-out is going in Southampton

The reassurance comes as an interactive map comprised of Government data, shows some areas in Southampton having the lowest vaccine rates in Hampshire.

Parts of Southampton including Stoneham, Swaythling, Newtown and Nicholstown and parts of the city centre have some of the lowest rates of first and second doses in the county, according to the Government’s interactive map of vaccinations.

However, Dr Nigel Watson, clinical lead for the COVID-19 vaccination programme in Hampshire and Isle of Wight said: “There is no sign that second doses are significantly slowing and every site is vaccinating in line with JCVI guidance which is clear that second doses should take place at eight weeks - with many young people who recently became eligible not due their second jab yet.”

While health experts and vaccine teams have seen a huge number of people come forward to be vaccinated, it was expected that some areas with larger numbers of younger people would have a lower overall uptake of second doses - as they’ve been eligible for a shorter amount of time than others.

A significant amount of 18-24 year olds will not be eligible for their second doses until September.

Clinics have been held throughout the city in locations convenient for diverse communities, with a variety of different ways of communicating with different age groups that the vaccines are safe.

Differing factors in the varying rates can be attributed to the student population in certain areas, it is understood, with work ongoing to reach more diverse communities in the city and surrounding areas.

Figures suggest more than two in five under-30s in Southampton have yet to receive a Covid-19 vaccine.

Despite renewed appeals from politicians and a host of pop-up vaccination centres across the country, the latest national statistics suggest a hesitancy among some people aged between 18 and 29.

NHS England data shows in Southampton, 35,773 people aged between 18 and 29 had received a first dose of a vaccine by August 7 – at least 56% of the age group, based on the number of people on the National Immunisation Management Service.

It meant around 44% of this cohort were yet to receive a jab at that point, compared to 29% among adults of all ages.

All adults in England have been able to book a first vaccine dose since June 17.

The low vaccination rate among younger people comes amid a warning from NHS England that more than a fifth of those currently being admitted to hospital with Covid-19 are aged between 18 and 34 – a figure that is four times higher than the peak last winter.

Chief executive Amanda Pritchard said vaccines had a “major impact” in keeping people out of hospital and saving lives.

Efforts by the Government to get young adults to come forward for a first jab include plans for a Covid vaccine passport that would make full vaccination a requirement for entry to nightclubs and other venues from the end of September.