Devon districts lead way on vaccines

MORE than half of all adults in East Devon, Torbay and West Devon have now had their first Covid-19 vaccine.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) data, which provides the position as of February 28, show that there have been 461,165 vaccines in Devon, with 445,074 of them being the first dose. Just under 50,000 vaccinations were carried out in the last week.

Devon as a whole has administered by far the highest number of vaccinations of any region in the South West. Figures show that 44.5% of the adult population had received their first jab. This is up on the 39.1% as of February 21.

In Cornwall, 216,072 people have had their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, 46.8% of the adult population, up from 39.3% as of last week.

The statistics show that in Devon, as of last Sunday, 99.6% of over-80s, everyone aged 75-79, 95.6% of those aged 70-74, and 79.4% of those aged 65-69 have received one dose, based on the 2019 ONS population estimates.

In Cornwall, 98.4% of over 80s, all those aged from 75-79, 94.7% of 70-74s and 83.9% of 65-69s have had their first vaccine.

Of the total population of Devon, 16,091 people, 1.6% of adults, have also had their second dose, with 11,325 in Cornwall, 2.4% per cent of adults.

In every single local authority in Devon and Cornwall, more than a third of all adults have had at least one dose of the vaccine, which is helping to drive down case rates and cut the number of hospitalisations. Experts are, however, warning against complacency.