An estimated 25,000 Derbyshire residents aged 18 to 24 have not had a Covid-19 vaccine, the latest figures show.

In addition, an estimated 18,000 Derbyshire residents aged 25-29 and 13,000 residents aged 30-34 have also not had a Covid-19 vaccine.

They make up the vast majority of the 12 per cent of Derbyshire adults who have not had a jab, despite being eligible and after a number of highly publicised walk-in clinics where appointments were not required.

Health leaders in the county have been highlighting the poor uptake in the younger age groups for the past month.

They suspect this may be due to complacency and mistruths being spread on social media.

This includes the repeated message for much of the past 18 months that younger people are less at risk of contracting serious illness or being hospitalised by Covid.

Experts have pointed to the debilitating impact of long Covid and also the impact of the virus leading to other ailments, along with mental health effects.

A Derbyshire study found that fears around pregnancy and fertility were key reasons for vaccine hesitancy among the county’s younger population.

The latest vaccination data, to July 4, shows that one in every three (32.7 per cent) Derbyshire residents aged 18-24 have not had a jab, along with 29.3 per cent of those aged 25-29 and 20.8 per cent of those aged 30-34.

Overall, 88.45 per cent of Derbyshire adults have had a vaccine and 70.9 per cent of all of the county’s residents.

Children are not yet eligible for jabs, unless they are aged 16 or 17 and have particularly health conditions which put them more at risk of contracting serious illness from the virus.

The vast majority – 97.08 per cent – of all Derbyshire residents aged 50 and above have had a Covid vaccine.

More than 70 per cent of Derbyshire adults have now had both vaccine doses, gaining the prospect of further protection from the virus.

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