80-per-cent take-up for Covid vaccination
West Berkshire is above the national average for receiving first dose
ALMOST 80 per cent of West Berkshire’s population above the age of 16 has received a first dose of the coronavirus vaccine – above the UK national average.
This marks the culmination of a campaign spanning most of 2021, with large sections of the community mobilised in promoting and administering the jab.
As of Saturday, 121,779 people in the district had received at least a first dose, out of a total population of 158,527.
The roll-out started in December last year at local GP surgeries, then in January the Newbury Racecourse clinic opened.
At its height, this vaccination hub deployed around 500 people, 400 of them volunteers.
It administered 66,500 individual doses to patients by the time it closed in June.
Initially, vaccination was limited to those in vulnerable groups – namely the elderly and those with long-term illnesses or disabilities.
Nevertheless, take-up was exceptionally strong between December and April.
Between January 21 and March 21 this year, the number of West Berkshire residents who had received at least one dose climbed from 10,337 to 70,723 – a 584-per-cent increase.
This was the most dramatic period of vaccination, and has not been repeated since – despite all under-50s becoming eligible in April.
Between March and June, 37,368 people were jabbed, and between June and September, the slowdown was more pronounced, the total increasing by 12 per cent to 121,598 vaccines administered.
By June, the roll-out was being supervised locally by a number of smaller clinics, with the racecourse hub phased out to allow for a resumption of sport and leisure activities.
These included hubs at the Kennet Shopping centre and Boots in Newbury.
While uptake – especially in early months – was significant, it should be noted that this came with some caveats.
By June and July, West Berkshire Council’s Local Outbreak Engagement Board reported the existence of ‘vaccine inequalities’.
There was a lower vaccine uptake in the most deprived sections of West Berkshire than elsewhere in the district.
At a meeting of the board in July, it was highlighted that vaccination rates in Greenham ward were 14 per cent lower than in Thatcham – and this discrepancy was especially pronounced among younger cohorts.
Efforts have now been made to address these gaps, including the rollout of a Health on the Move van in June.
This mobile vaccine van brought the jab to communities and also engaged with homeless people.