Chris Whitty warns of ‘very sick’ young patients in hospital with Covid
Chris Whitty warns of ‘very sick’ young patients in hospital with Covid in plea for people to get a jab — as figures show THREE-QUARTERS of admissions in under-50s are unvaccinated
England’s chief medical officer said it was ‘stark’ that so many Covid patients had not been vaccinatedThree-quarters of under-50s on wards with the virus were not jabbed, Public Health England figures showBritain has inoculated more than three quarters of adults with two doses of the Covid vaccine
Professor Chris Whitty has urged Britons to get jabbed
Professor Chris Whitty has urged Britons not to delay getting the Covid vaccine, saying there are some ‘very sick’ young adults in hospital with the virus.
England’s chief medical officer — who has spent four weeks working on a Covid ward — said it was ‘stark’ that the majority of Covid patients have not had their jabs, and told how many ‘regret delaying’ their inoculation.
Almost three-quarters of under-50s hospitalised with Covid have not been vaccinated, according to official figures from Public Health England.
Professor Whitty said: ‘The great majority of adults have been vaccinated.
‘Four weeks working on a Covid ward makes stark the reality that the majority of our hospitalised Covid patients are unvaccinated and regret delaying. Some are very sick including young adults.
‘Please don’t delay your vaccine.’
It came as official estimates showed England’s Covid cases fell by only four per cent last week — with the R rate possibly rising above one.
Office for National Statistics testing estimated 698,100 people were infected with the virus in any given day in the week to August 14 — or one in 80 people — compared to 726,700 previously.
The figure is based on random swabbing of more than 100,000 Britons, which allows it to pick up asymptomatic cases who would not have come forward for a test.
No10’s top scientists estimated today that the R rate may have risen to between 0.9 and 1.2, up from a range of 0.8 to 1.0 last week.
The R – or reproduction – rate represents the average number of people each Covid patient will infect and keeping it below one is critical for infections to fall. At the current level every ten people infected with the virus is thought to be passing it on to nine to 12 others.
Office for National Statistics figures suggested Covid cases fell by four per cent in England last week after estimating 698,100 people were infected with the virus
But No10’s top scientists said the R rate had risen compared to 0.8 to 1.0 the previous week, and was now between 0.9 and 1.2. This means every ten people who catch the virus are thought to be passing it on to up to 12 others. The R rate is a lagging indicator, and can only reflect the situation on the ground up to two weeks ago.
Separate figures from No10’s top scientists published today estimated the R rate has risen to between 0.9 and 1.2, up from a range of 0.8 and 1.0 last week. The R – or reproduction – rate represents the average number of people each Covid patient will infect and keeping it below one is critical for infections to fall
The East of England was estimated to have seen its Covid cases rise last week, while they levelled off in London and the South East. Only three regions — East Midlands, West Midlands and North East — saw their infections fall
Adults aged 35 to 49 years old saw their Covid infection rate rise in the latest week, estimates suggested, but among school-age children, 25 to 34-year-olds and the over-70s it fell compared to the previous seven-day spell
Wales was the only nation to see its outbreak grow in the latest week. Cases levelled off in Northern Ireland, and decreased in England and Scotland
The UK’s vaccine programme has so far seen around three-quarters of adults in the country double-jabbed.
But nearly three million young adults have not had a first dose, according to figures published earlier this week by the four health agencies.
There has been a concerted effort to get as many people vaccinated as possible, with 16 and 17-year-olds getting letters and text reminders this week inviting them for a jab.
The PHE data, published on Friday, showed there were 1,189 deaths up to August 15 of people who were either confirmed or likely to have had the Delta variant and who died within 28 days of a positive test.
While the majority of deaths with the variant were in people aged 50 or over, the under-50s account for more when it comes to hospital admissions.
Of the 1,076 deaths of people aged 50 or over, 318 (30 per cent) were unvaccinated, 93 (9 per cent) had received one dose of vaccine and 652 (61%) had received both.
Of the 113 deaths of people under 50, 72 (64 per cent) were unvaccinated, 11 (10 per cent) had received one jab and 27 (24 per cent) had received both.
Of the 3,173 people aged 50 or over admitted to hospital in England up to the middle of this month who were either confirmed or likely to have had the Delta variant, 989 (31 per cent) were not jabbed.
A total of 318 (10 per cent) had received one dose of vaccine and 1,838 (58 per cent) had received two.
Most of the 4,112 people aged under 50 had not had a jab, making up 3,044 (74 per cent) of the total.
A total of 631 (15 per cent) had received one dose of vaccine and 366 (9 per cent) had received both doses.
Coronavirus infection levels remain high across the UK and have risen in Wales and Northern Ireland, according to the latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
They are highest in Northern Ireland, with an estimate of one in 50 people in private households having the virus in the week to August 14 – the highest level since the week to January 23.
The estimate is one in 80 people in England, one in 130 in Wales and one in 200 in Scotland.
The ONS said in England rates of infection have increased for people aged 35 to 49 but have fallen for those in school years seven to 11, for 25 to 34-year-olds and for people aged 70 and over.
