For some teenagers, the promise of a Deliveroo discount was enough to tempt them to get the Covid vaccine. For others, staying in their parents’ good books was far more important.
“My mum told me to,” said one 17-year-old after receiving her first vaccine along with her friends in Bolton on Monday afternoon. Arsalan Azhar, 18, said he too was just obeying orders: “We would like to have some incentives,” he said. “But it was due to my parents. They will be more relaxed now.”
Bolton’s walk-in vaccination centre opened its doors to 16- and 17-year-olds for the first time on Monday as the government announced plans to offer jabs to all teenagers in that age group in England within the next week, ready for the return to education in September.
Perhaps appropriately for teenagers, there was no sign of the “Glastonbury-style” clamour exhibited by twentysomethings when they became eligible for vaccines in June.
Rather, there was more of a listless trickle as small numbers of teenagers ambled towards Bolton’s vaccination centre, which is appropriately situated near a Nando’s and between a Pandora and New Look.
“I wanted to get it done as soon as I could,” said Connor Hindle, 16, who said his parents were vulnerable to Covid because his mum has asthma and his dad is diabetic.
“I’ve wanted to be very careful where I go and who I go out with and I’ve not been in contact with a lot of people because people are mixing with others. I feel a bit more open to go out and do a bit more stuff now.”
Nearly 266,000 under-18s in England have received their first dose of the vaccine, equating to about a fifth of 16- and 17-year-olds, according to the latest NHS figures, to 8 August.
But the NHS data does not break down the under-18 category further, so it is not possible to say what proportion of 16- and 17-year-olds have been vaccinated, as the 265,675 includes some clinically vulnerable children between the ages of 12 and 15. If all children aged 12-17 in England are included, 7% have received their first dose.
The government has partnered with dating apps and firms including Uber, Bolt and Deliveroo to encourage take-up among young people. Ministers will soon start sending out more than 100,000 texts to eligible teenagers inviting them to book their jabs at one of more than 800 GP-led local vaccination sites.
NHS England has also launched a new online walk-in site finder, with some centres marked specifically as open for under-18s. There seemed to be some early teething problems, however, as only two sites show as available for under-18s within 10 miles of Manchester city centre – and neither are open before Wednesday.
In Bolton, 3,444 under-18s have been vaccinated, equating to roughly half of 16- and 17-year-olds or 16% of those aged 12-17. The Greater Manchester town has had one of the UK’s highest infection rates since the pandemic began and a higher-than-average death toll.
Dr Helen Wall, the senior responsible officer for Bolton’s vaccination programme in Bolton, said: “This is a prime time for this age group to get their vaccination: having just left school and being able to socialise more with their friends. We know that mixing with other people increases the risk of catching and spreading Covid and taking it home, so the best defence against this is to be vaccinated.
“We also know that being vaccinated reduces transmission and contraction of Covid, as well as reducing the chance of becoming seriously ill with the virus.”
