Vaccines Take-up among young city teens among lowest in country
BRISTOL has one of the lowest coronavirus vaccination rates among 12 to 15-yearolds in England and Scotland, new figures show.
The data has been compiled from the Government’s coronavirus dashboard and show that Bristol has the sixth-lowest vaccine take-up in this age bracket.
In England, jabs are being carried out in schools by nurses and immunisation teams.
The estimated cumulative takeup of first doses of Covid-19 vaccine among 12 to 15-year-olds in our city is 5.8 percent.
This is in stark contrast with Bath and North East Somerset, which has a 10 per cent take up or Gloucester with 10.3 per cent.
The only authorities with lower numbers are Waltham Forest with 5.7 per cent, then down to Tower Hamlets, Lewisham, Newham to Barking and Dagenham with 3.5 per cent.
Three million pupils aged between 12 and 15 across the UK are eligible to receive a first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine as part of a rollout that began a month ago.
The picture in Scotland – where those aged 12 to 15 have been able to book jabs in existing vaccination centres – is markedly different and the local authorities in the country have the highest take-up rates, with Dumfries and Galloway topping the list at 62.9 per cent.
Yesterday it was announced that children in England aged between 12 and 15 will also be able to secure their Covid-19 jabs at existing vaccination centres following concerns about rollout delays.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid told MPs the national booking service will be opened up to younger teenagers to book their Covid-19 vaccinations outside of school to “make the most of half-term”.
It comes after headteachers’ unions called for vaccines to be offered to pupils in walk-in centres, as well as school, after figures revealed the scale of the low takeup of the Covid-19 jab among the cohort. The latest attendance data from the Department for Education (DfE) shows the number of children out of school for Covid-19 related reasons in England has risen over the past fortnight.
The DfE estimates that 2.6% of all pupils - around 209,000 children were not in class for reasons connected to coronavirus on Thursday last week.
This is up from more than 204,000 children, or 2.5 per cent of all pupils, on September 30.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “The key to bringing levels of Covid-19 infection back under control in our schools and colleges is clearly the vaccination programme for 12 to 15-year-olds but it has not been happening fast enough.
“It was painfully slow to get underway in some areas and has been beset by logistical problems, not to mention being disrupted by the irresponsible actions of antivaccination protesters.”
He added: “The announcement from NHS England that young people can attend vaccination drop-in centres during the half-term holiday is a big help and we hope they will do so in sufficient numbers to help slow the spread of the virus in schools and colleges.”
ASCL is also calling for funding from the Government to allow schools to install high-quality ventilation systems to further reduce infection levels.
Among pupils absent for Covid19 reasons on October 14, the main reason for absence was a confirmed case of coronavirus, DfE figures show.
Approximately 110,700 pupils were off for this reason, up from 102,000 on September 30, and 81,100 were off with a suspected case, down from 84,100.
About 11,200 were absent due to isolation for other reasons, down slightly from 11,400 on September 30.A further 5,300 pupils were off due to attendance restrictions being in place to manage an outbreak, up from 4,800, and 400 did not attend as a result of school closures due to Covid-19.
NEW cases of Covid-19 has prompted a school in South Gloucestershire to reintroduce face masks in communal indoor areas.
A letter to parents of pupils at Winterbourne Academy sent yesterday states there have been confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the school.
In order to “avoid partial closures” like other schools in the area, Winterbourne Academy is reinforcing measures to come into force after the October half term, including face masks and a one-way system.
“We have been advised that there have been confirmed cases of Covid19 within Winterbourne Academy,” a letter reads.
“We know that you may find this concerning but we are continuing to monitor the situation and are working closely with Public Health England.
“The Academy remains open and your child should continue to attend as normal if they remain well. We encourage household members that are aged 11 and over to continue with twice weekly LFD testing to help identify cases promptly.”
“Fortunately at Winterbourne Academy we have remained fully open throughout term one. However, I am aware as I write that some schools locally and further afield have unfortunately already had partial closures, for example moving one or more year groups to remote learning temporarily.
“Evidently, we want to avoid this as much as possible, and we regularly monitor our confirmed cases and patterns to try to remain ahead of transmission rates.”
As of November 1, when pupils return from October half term break, all staff and students “are asked to wear a face covering in internal communal spaces including corridors during transitions and when queuing in the canteen areas.
“Students and staff are not required to wear face coverings in classrooms, but may do so if they prefer. Also in the first instance we will not be asking students to wear a face covering for assemblies where these are held entirely within the cohort,” the letter states.
The school is also reinforcing a oneway system on the first and second floors of the main building during transition times, and all other existing measures will remain in place.
It comes as the region has seen an influx in cases, with Bristol reporting double the number of infections it did in October of last year.
Meanwhile Covid hospital admissions in Bristol are currently at similar levels to last year.