Early indications are that vaccines are protecting the elderly against the variant of concern first found in India and most of the people hospitalised with COVID-19 after contracting it have not been vaccinated,Matt Hancock told MP’s this afternoon
Hancock said there were 2,323 confirmed cases of the B.1.617.2 variant, and in Bolton, the majority of the 19 who had been hospitalised had not been vaccinated even though they were eligible.
“This shows the new variant is not tending to penetrate into older vaccinated, groups, and it underlines again the importance of getting the jab,” he told parliament and said that advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation was that more lives would be saved by ensuring that older people get first and second doses.
Earlier analysis by PA Media showed that rates in the UK’s worst hotspots are being driven by a sharp rise in cases among younger age groups.
Bolton, they said, recorded 733 new cases of Covid-19 in the seven days to May 11, the latest data shows.
This is the equivalent of 254.9 cases per 100,000 people – the highest anywhere in the UK and the highest for the area since February 12, up sharply from 99.8 per 100,000 one week earlier.
The rate of new cases among people in Bolton aged 60 and over is just 59.9, however.This is up only slightly from 35.3 a week earlier.
By contrast, the rate for those aged 10-19 in Bolton currently stands at 486.2 per 100,000, up sharply from 200.7 one week earlier, while for those aged 20-29 the rate has jumped from 147.9 to 310.0.
