Virus worst in London but vaccines lag behind

Downing Street defended the vaccine rollout last night after figures revealed London is lagging behind most of England despite having the highest levels of infection.

The capital has delivered 237,524 doses so far – 10 per cent of the UK’s total and the second lowest of any region.

it is home to 16 per cent of the population – nine million people.

Experts have suggested the nHS has been slower to set up vaccine centres in the city while higher levels of ethnic minorities and economic deprivation could have hindered uptake.

it has raised fears of a ‘postcode lottery’ over the vaccine rollout.

Some 29.5 per cent of those eligible have so far received their first dose of vaccine in London compared to 43.8 per cent in the north East and Yorkshire.

The capital’s mayor Sadiq Khan yesterday held ‘constructive’ talks with vaccine deployment minister nadhim Zahawi.

He said: ‘i am hugely concerned that Londoners have received only a tenth of the vaccines that have been given across the country. The situation in London is critical, with rates of the virus extremely high, which is why it’s so important that vulnerable Londoners are given access to the vaccine as soon as possible.’ But Downing Street insisted London has had ‘a fair share of Covid-19 vaccine’.

The Prime Minister’s spokesman said: ‘we’ve ensured that every area receives a fair share of the vaccinations and we will continue to do that. You will continue to see the vaccination programme accelerate through this month and throughout February.’

NHS England figures show that 2,371,407 jabs were given in the country between December 8 and January 10, including first and second doses. Professor Christina Pagel, of University College London, a member of the Sage group of scientific advisers, said: ‘i had assumed they would be prioritising the high-incidence regions.

‘i would have thought it would have made sense to have shifted supplies towards London and the South East.’ She added: ‘There is a lot of evidence that uptake is generally weaker in deprived communities and non-white communities – and these are the people at greater risk from Covid.’

new infection figures show cases are starting to fall across the country. London continues to have the highest rate of new cases – at 864.9 per 100,000 people, down from 1,043.9 in the previous week.