Words: Richard Beecham, local democracy reporter
A report set to go before Leeds City Council decision-makers today claims almost three quarters of adults in the district have now received their first Covid-19 jabs.
The document added that nearly nine in 10 people classed as “clinically extremely vulnerable” now had both doses, while an even greater proportion of over-70s had the full protection from Covid-19.
However, it added that there were still around 40,000 adults in the city classified as high risk who had not yet been vaccinated, while hospitalisations are expected to rise throughout the summer.
The document stated that, in Leeds, almost 528,000 people have received their first Covid-19 vaccination, and more than 426,000 have received their second as of 15 July.
This means 74 per cent of the adult population have had a first dose and 60 per cent of the adult population with both doses. Around 87 per cent of the clinically extremely vulnerable cohort, and 83 per cent of the ‘at-risk’
cohort have also been double-jabbed.
The report stated: “There is continued focus on increasing the number of people having their first vaccine to at least 80 per cent to help keep everyone
safer.
“There are roughly around 40,000 unvaccinated people in Leeds that fall into high risk, priority cohorts one through to nine. We continue to monitor these number very closely and continue to undertake targeted proactive work with communication going out regularly encouraging vaccination uptake.”
It added that around half of 18-29 year olds in the city are yet to be vaccinated, and that this “poses obvious risks” due to the government’s lifting of lockdown restrictions this week.
The council said it was planning “several targeted programmes”, including mobile vaccination sites and a pop-up site in the Trinity Centre, to try to encourage more young people to get their vaccinations.
It added that infection rates varied wildly between different council wards in Leeds – with the lowest infection rate at 233.5 per 100,000 and the highest at 772.2 per 100,000. According to the latest data received by Public Health England, rates have risen across Leeds 22 wards, remained stable across seven, with only one seeing a decrease.
The report claimed:
“Although vaccines have weakened the link between infection rates, hospitalisations and deaths, Covid patients in hospitals have increased recently and the number of patients is expected to rise further.
“Around a one in three patients have had both vaccines. The average age of patients is 60 years old, a younger average age than in previous peaks. The death rate is significantly lower than earlier this year.
“In addition to the need to open additional Covid wards, the hospital continues to see large numbers of attendances through A&E. There has already been cancellation of some planned surgeries. The expectation is that hospital cases will rise over the summer.”
The council’s decision-making executive board will meet today to discuss the report.