Concerns about low vaccine uptake in communities as Covid rates rise

A third of people in Manchester who are eligible for a fourth dose of the Covid jab have still not been vaccinated – a 'cause for concern' as infection rates rise. Only 67.2 pc of the city's population who are aged 75 and over, live in a care home or have a weakened immune system and have had their first three doses of the Covid vaccination, have not come forward for their fourth dose so far.

Local health bosses are particularly concerned about low uptake of the Spring booster within Manchester's African, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities. The latest data shows that around two thirds of people in these communities who have had the first three doses have not yet come forward for their fourth.

It comes as the number of Covid cases is rising with a 'significant increase' in infections of the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants of Omicron in the last few weeks. Jenny Osborne, who leads Manchester's Covid vaccination programme, shared the figures at a health and wellbeing board meeting today (July 6).

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She said: "This is not the level coverage we would want to see. It means a significant volume of our population who are eligible are unprotected. In the context of rising Covid rates, that's a cause for concern."

The public health boss is particularly concerned about uptake of the Spring booster within the city's African, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities. As of June 25, only 32.6 pc of people of African ethnicity who are eligible for the Spring booster have had their fourth dose, while in the Pakistani and Bangladeshi population the level of uptake is 35.9 and 35.3 pc respectively.

The strategic lead for population health programmes in