Covid vaccinations among younger people slowing down in Watford

It has been over a month since people aged 18 to 22 - who were not in a priority group - were offered a vaccine locally.

Public Health England data shows that initially, there was a form of vaccine ‘enthusiasm’ among people aged between 18 to 24, as many visited the first walk-in clinic at Watford for said age group on June 16.

The day before the clinic opened, there was a 24.95 per cent uptake of people aged 18 to 24 in Watford with a first dose, and this shot up to 27.04 per cent after the first clinic.

A week later, after much opportunity for people that age to get a jab, there was an uptake of 34.69 per cent on June 22.

But more recently the uptake in people aged 18 to 24 has slowed down, with just an 1.35 per cent increase in a week (July 20 to July 27).

Age demographic of first dose uptake in Watford

Interestingly there now appears to be more demand within people aged 18 to 24 (61.74 per cent) than people aged 25 to 29 per cent (60.89 per cent).

Currently there is a lower uptake of second doses within younger adults ranging between 18 to 34, which is hardly surprising given the recommended eight-week gap between a first and second dose.

Age demographic of second dose uptake

While the current data for the second dose is likely to have a staggering change over the next few weeks, it appears that the general interest in younger age groups getting even the first dose is dying off.

In comparison, the latest data from July 27 shows that people in more vulnerable age groups, 70+, has roughly a 93 per cent uptake in first doses, and nearly 89.7 per cent in second doses.

Of course, such age groups were made a priority to be vaccinated earlier on in the year, and they had much more time to reach that stage compared to younger age groups.

In England around two in five people aged 18 to 29 have not had their first jab since they were eligible, and in the same period only a quarter of 40 to 49 year olds had not had their first dose.

Hertfordshire’s director of public health, Jim McManus, said: "There are still an awful lot of people not yet fully vaccinated – and the virus can reach them."

He stresses that the virus is "still out there" and that it hasn’t changed just because the rules have ended.