GPs across the UK are sending back spare doses of the coronavirus vaccine due to slowing demand.
Huge numbers of people took up the option to be vaccinated as soon as they were eligible but demand has now slowed in certain areas forcing the redistribution of some vaccines to areas where demand is higher.
Some experts have claimed England is ‘close to maximum take-up’ but more than 3 million people under the age of 30 remain unvaccinated.
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The slow roll-out among young adults is also having an impact on the overall rate of vaccinations in England.
Some 46.3 million first doses have been delivered – the equivalent of 87.9% of the adult population. This is up just half a percentage point from 87.4% last Monday, July 14.
That figure was only one point higher than the previous week. It compares with week-on-week growth of 1.4 points on July 7, 2.4 points on June 30 and 2.9 points on June 23.
Take-up of first doses among older age groups has levelled off in recent weeks, settling at around 94% of people aged 80 and over, 99% of 70 to 79-year-olds, 98% of 60 to 69 year-olds and 95% of 50 to 59-year-olds.
The figures are lower for 40 to 49 year-olds (88%) and 30 to 39 year-olds (79%), and take-up among these age groups has also slowed in the last few weeks.
John Roberts, from the Covid-19 Actuaries Response Group, which has been tracking the roll-out, told The Telegraph earlier this month that it was ‘inevitable’ the roll out would slow as it reached the end.
He said: “Among the over-30s, it feels as though everyone who put their hand up first time has been done.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Monday that ‘some of life’s most important pleasures and opportunities are likely to be increasingly dependent on vaccination’.
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