Vaccines are now available to all adults in England – and latest figures show that almost 87% of people aged 50 and over in Wolverhampton have received at least one jab.
But that means around 12,500 people have not yet been vaccinated and, with infection rates rising once more, they remain at greater risk of serious illness, hospitalisation and even death.
Councillor Jasbir Jaspal, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Health and Wellbeing, said: “The World Health Organization says that older people, and those with underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease and cancer, are more likely to develop serious illness from Covid-19.
“It is great news that the vaccine is now available to all adults in the city, and we want to make sure that older people do not get left behind.
“Around 85,500 residents aged 50-plus have now received the life-saving vaccine – but more than 12,500 people haven’t come forward yet.
“With older people being more vulnerable to Covid-19, it is vital that they get the protection they need by having their vaccination.
“So, if you’ve not had your jab yet, now is the time. Not only will the vaccination help to protect you from severe illness, hospitalisation or even death, it will help to protect others around you too by reducing the chance of passing the virus on.”
Anyone over the age of 18 can book their vaccinations online at NHS or by calling the NHS on 119.
Latest figures show there were 105.2 new cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 people in Wolverhampton over the 7 days to 26 June. That means 277 people in the city tested positive for the virus in that 7 day period – though the true number of new cases will likely be higher.
