Half of adults still not jabbed in some areas of the city

MORE DEPRIVED WARDS ARE BEING TARGETED BY HEALTH CHIEFS

NEARLY half of all adults in some areas of Derby are still unvaccinated against Covid.

In New Normanton, Rose Hill and Castleward, Normanton North and Peartree and the Cathedral Quarter and Castleward, fewer than 60 per cent of adults have been vaccinated.

Across Derbyshire as a whole, 90.8 per cent of all adults have had one dose, while 85.9 per cent have received both doses.

NEARLY half of all adults in some areas of Derby are still unvaccinated against Covid.

In New Normanton, Rose Hill and Castleward, Normanton North and Peartree and the Cathedral Quarter and Castleward, fewer than 60 per cent of adults have been vaccinated against Covid-19.

New Normanton, stretching from Lara Croft Way to St James Road and much of Burton Road, has seen 53 per cent of adults there vaccinated against the virus as of the latest data.

This is the lowest of any area in Derbyshire.

Normanton is also one of the most deprived areas of the county and city, with lower household incomes and quality of housing.

Health chiefs throughout the pandemic have stressed that the more deprived communities are less able to self-isolate and more likely to work jobs which place them more at risk, such as factory work, while also depending more on public transport.

Brookside and Walton in Chesterfield is the area of Derbyshire which has seen the most of its adult population vaccinated, with 94 per cent receiving a jab.

Across Derbyshire as a whole, 90.8 per cent of all adults in Derbyshire have had one dose, while 85.9 per cent of the county and city’s adult population have received both doses.

Derby itself has vaccinated 77 per cent of its adult population with one vaccine dose. This puts the city ahead of many other cities, including its Midlands neighbours, Leicester and Nottingham, by some margin.

Health professionals, including those leading the GP roll-out of jabs in Derby, have been making extensive inroads in the city’s most deprived wards, endeavouring to vaccinate more of the community.

This has included GPs contacting patients individually and seeking to persuade them to have a vaccine. Pharmacy-led vaccination sites, such as at Ikhlas Community Centre, have also been working for months to give people jabs, from within the community itself.

Health leaders are mindful that disinformation about vaccines is more prominent in both younger age groups and black and minority ethnic communities.

A Joined Up Care Derbyshire spokesperson said: “Vaccination teams drawn from all parts of the healthcare system and from volunteers across Derby and Derbyshire have had incredible success in administering Covid-19 vaccines first doses to nearly 91 per cent of the population, and second doses to more than 84 per cent.

“We understand the challenges of reaching some parts of the population in central Derby, but through strong partnerships with local community groups and the city council led by the work of the vaccines inequalities group we are proud to have provided second doses to more than 70 per cent of the population

“This compares very favourably to similar cities across the Midlands, but we are continuing to try to do more, through sharing ideas and making use of lessons learned from our colleagues.

“We are particularly proud of the innovative work in reaching people in ethnic minority and deprived communities and people who are homeless.

“The partnership work between local GPs, East Midlands Ambulance Service, Derby City Council, and the City Mission on vaccinating homeless people is just one outstanding example of this work.

“Teams continue to run pop-up clinics in key areas, including this week at the University of Derby, as we try to reach as many people as possible.

“We are also continuing to offer vaccinations through Midland House, as well as multiple community pharmacy-led sites and would like to thank the hundreds of staff and volunteers for their efforts in vaccinating so many people.”

Teams continue to run pop-up clinics in key areas... as we try to reach as many people as possible.

Joined Up Care Derbyshire