Third of young adults in England still without first dose of Covid-19 vaccine

A third of young adults in England have still not had a first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, new figures show.

Some 66.4% of people aged 18 to 29 had received a first dose as of July 18, according to estimates from NHS England – meaning 33.6% are likely to be unjabbed.

This is the equivalent of around 2.9 million adults under 30.

A breakdown of this age group by gender shows vaccine take-up continues to be lower among males than females.

An estimated 71.9% of women aged 25 to 29 have had a first dose, compared with only 65.0% of men.

And among 18-24 year-olds, while 68.2% of women are estimated to have received one dose, only 60.0% of men have done so.

All adults in England have been able to book a first dose since June 17 – more than a month before the latest snapshot of vaccinations by age.

The Government has urged young adults to come forward for a first jab, while announcing 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.

The slow take-up among young adults is also continuing to have an impact on the overall rate of vaccinations in England.

As of July 21, 39.0 million first doses had been delivered in England – the equivalent of 87.7% of the adult population.

This is up 0.7 percentage points from 87.0% a week earlier.

It compares with week-on-week growth of one percentage point on July 14, 1.4 points on July 7 and 2.4 points on June 30.

Take-up of first doses among older age groups has levelled off in recent weeks, settling at around 94% of people aged 80 and over, 99% of 70 to 79-year-olds, 98% of 60-69 year-olds and 95% of 50 to 59-year-olds.

The figures are lower for 40-49 year-olds (89%) and 30-39 year-olds (80%), and take-up among these age groups has also slowed in the last two weeks.

There are 16 local authority areas in England where less than half of 18-24 year-olds are estimated to have received a first dose of vaccine, according to analysis by the PA news agency.

The areas with the lowest proportions are Islington in London (40.6%), Birmingham (40.8%), Lewisham in London (46.2%) and Liverpool (46.7%).

By contrast there are 10 local authority areas where at least 90% of 18-24 year-olds have received a first dose: East Devon, Elmbridge, Hart, Harrogate, North Kesteven, Richmondshire, Rutland, South Oxfordshire, Test Valley and Wiltshire.

In four areas, less than half of 25 to 29-year-olds are estimated have received a first dose: Coventry (41.7%), Nottingham (46.1%), Birmingham (46.5%) and Barking & Dagenham in London (48.6%).

There are 18 areas where at least 90% of 25-29 year-olds have had their first jab: Cambridge, Cherwell, City of London, Cotswold, Elmbridge, Hammersmith & Fulham, Harrogate, Hart, Isles of Scilly, Mole Valley, Richmond upon Thames, South Cambridgeshire, South Oxfordshire, Test Valley, Wandsworth, Waverley, Woking and Wokingham.