England’s Covid vaccine postcode lottery was laid bare again today by damning statistics that revealed parts of the nation have jabbed five times as many over-65s as others.
NHS England figures show 93.6 per cent of all over-65s had received their first dose by February 28 — the most recent day local inoculation data is available for.
But MailOnline’s analysis of the figures — which break down the numbers for 6,700 neighbourhoods into a series of interactive maps and a handy search tool — show how wildly immunisation rates vary across the country.
For example, Tidenham and Woolaston in Gloucestershire appears to have only vaccinated 19 per cent of its over-65 population, despite elderly residents being at the top of the priority list.
However, Waterlooville in Hampshire has already dished out first doses to 1,487 of its over-65s — the equivalent of 97.5 per cent of its older population. Uptake figures are based on the latest population estimates by Public Health England’s National Immunisation Management Service (NIMS).
Around 8 per cent of neighbourhoods in England — or 543 — have jabbed more than 95 per cent of the cohort, as the nation continues to plough on with its mammoth inoculation drive.
Figures also revealed one in four social care staff still haven’t been vaccinated. The rate is just 58 per cent in London. Health officials are concerned about high levels of vaccine hesitancy among black and ethnic minorities, fuelled by anti-vaxx messages on social media.
England’s vaccine roll-out was officially widened to over-60s this week, and GPs have been told to prepare to receive twice as many doses in March.
NHS bosses have called for local vaccination teams to stamp down on ineligible people being invited for vaccines, after reports of healthy adults in their twenties and thirties being called up for their jabs and people skipping queues by claiming to be carers.
Even David Cameron managed to skip the queue, with the 54-year-old being called up by medics in London.
Small towns and villages across England performed best, with Waterlooville followed by Duffield in Derbyshire (97.4 per cent), Burton Stretton in Staffordshire (97.3 per cent), Stoney Hill in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, (97.2 per cent) and Longwell Green in Gloucestershire (97.1 per cent) in vaccinating over-65s
MailOnline’s analysis of NHS England’s vaccine drive was based on data for middle layer super output areas, which are small geographical locations home to around 7,500 people.
Twelve neighbourhoods have vaccinated fewer than 60 per cent of their over-65s, while 114 of the areas have yet to reach the 70 per cent threshold.
Small towns and villages across England generally performed best in terms of giving a first dose out to over-65s, with Waterlooville followed by Duffield in Derbyshire (97.4 per cent).
Burton Stretton in Staffordshire (97.3 per cent) was next, followed by Stoney Hill in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, (97.2 per cent) and Longwell Green in Gloucestershire (97.1 per cent).
But the villages of Tidenham and Woolaston in the Forest of Dean were an anomaly by some margin as the worst performing area, only giving a first dose to 360 of its 1,853 over-65s.
Other badly performing areas were centered across cities, particularly in south London, other than Gobowen, St Martin’s & Weston Rhyn in Shropshire, which reached 52.2 per cent of older residents.
It was followed by Moss Side West in Manchester (55.5 per cent), Brixton North in London (56.1 per cent) and Sparkbrook South in Birmingham (57.3 per cent).
The rest of the bottom ten for vaccine uptake among the over-65s were in London.
MailOnline’s analysis comes as health officials have launched a drive to encourage those in the care sector to get the jab amid ongoing concerns about low take-up.
Data published yesterday by NHS England shows that just 73 per cent of staff in care homes for older adults have received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
The figure falls to 59 per cent among staff in care homes for under-65s and for home care providers, NHS England said. This is despite social care being in the top priority group for the rollout.
Uptake is much higher among doctors and nurses, with 93 per cent of frontline staff now immunised.
Ministers are discussing plans to force NHS workers to have Covid jabs. On Wednesday the Mail revealed that a review of vaccine passports will consider whether health staff who decline an injection could be legally obliged to have one.
The review is also expected to look at whether compulsion should apply to care home staff, most of whom are not employed by the state.
NHS bosses have written to all local authorities asking them to focus efforts on boosting vaccination rates in social care.
Yesterday, in a cross-party intervention, a group of 150 BAME councillors from both Conservative and Labour Parties joined forces to urge people to get the jab.
The campaign has received the backing of Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer as well as vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi. Videos from councillors produced as part of the campaign have been seen over one million times.
The campaign seeks to encourage people not only to take the vaccine but also to have important conversations with loved ones and relatives about getting the protection they need from the virus.
Tory Cllr Gurjit Kaur Bains, who is leading the drive, said: ‘As elected councillors we understand our communities and throughout this pandemic have been helping to provide support to our most vulnerable.
‘This initiative is cross party because we all have a duty to protect our communities and fight misinformation. The message is clear, the vaccine is safe, it will protect you and your family.
‘We all have a role to play so I urge everyone to have conversations with their own friends and families about the importance of taking the vaccine. Let’s work together and fight this virus.’