London’s mayor Sadiq Khan has bemoaned the city’s Covid vaccine supply after NHS figures revealed it has got jabs to fewer people than any other region.
Only two per cent of people in the capital were vaccinated against coronavirus by January 10, compared to five per cent in the North East & Yorkshire.
NHS England’s first regional breakdown of vaccines up to January 10 reveal that the Midlands has vaccinated the most people against the disease, managing to get first doses to 387,647 in the first month of the roll-out.
This was more than double the 186,291 in the East of England almost twice as many as London’s 199,986.
London has accounted for only 10 per cent of the country’s vaccinations so far despite being home to 16 per cent of the population with some nine million people. The capital and the East are the only regions where the share of vaccines has been smaller than the share of the population.
The North East & Yorkshire, and the South West, are punching above their weight and making up only 25 per cent of the population but using 31 per cent of the first-dose vaccines.
Mr Khan said: ‘I am hugely concerned that Londoners have received only a tenth of the vaccines that have been given across the country.’
He called on vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi to act as he announced he has repeatedly called on the Government to scale up the vaccine supply.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock today claimed that the UK has now dished out three million vaccinations since the roll-out started on December 8. The country is aiming to reach 13.9million people by mid-February so ministers can consider easing lockdown restrictions.
Yesterday saw Britain’s death toll rise by 1,564 as statistics now suggest more than 100,000 people have died of Covid-19 in the past year and another 47,525 more positive tests were confirmed.
In other coronavirus news:
- Home Secretary Priti Patel vowed to crack down on Covid rule breakers after police were called to a roof-top rave in Soutwark last night;
- A Public Health England study reveals a previous coronavirus infection gives people immunity for five months;
- Education Secretary Gavin Williamson admitted children would stay at home until after the February half-term;
- A new infectious Covid strain has been identified in Brazil strain and is sending cases soaring in the South American country,
- Ministers delayed rules forcing people to get a negative Covid-19 test before entering Britain until Monday;
- Tennis star Andy Murray tests positive for Covid days before he was due to fly to Melbourne for the tennis season’s first Grand Slam, the Australian Open.
Sadiq Khan said only a tenth of Covid vaccines across the UK had been given to people living in the capital. Pictured: Vaccination Centre open today at Lords Cricket Ground
A further 10,020 Covid cases were reported in London on Wednesday, bringing the total number of people who have tested positive for the virus in the capital to 538,132. In the worst-hit boroughs, it is feared the rate could be as high as seven in every 1,000 people (pictured)
The Mayor said he is ‘hugely concerned’ to learn the amount of Londoners who have been given the Covid vaccine
Queues of ambulances were seen outside the Royal London Hospital as Covid cases in the capital rise
Mr Khan said: ‘I am hugely concerned that Londoners have received only a tenth of the vaccines that have been given across the country.
‘The situation in London is critical with rates of the virus extremely high, which is why it’s so important that vulnerable Londoners are given access to the vaccine as soon as possible.
‘I have repeatedly called on the Government to scale up the vaccine supply, and will be meeting the Minister for COVID Vaccine Deployment today to ensure that we urgently receive an amount of the vaccine that reflects our size, density and the level of need in our city.’
It comes after Mayor Sadiq Khan (pictured) declared a ‘major incident’ in the capital as Covid cases continue to rise
It comes days after the Mayor declared a ‘major incident’ in the capital as Covid cases continue to rise.
He said the spread of the virus ‘out of control.’
In the worst-hit boroughs, it is feared the rate could be as high as one in 20 people people with the virus.
A further 10,020 Covid cases were reported in London on Wednesday, bringing the total number of people who have tested positive for the virus in the capital to 538,132.
But there has been a drop in the number of hospital admissions, with 5,919 coronavirus patients admitted in a week.
As of Tuesday there were 7,606 Covid patients in London hospitals, with 1,085 of those patients being treated on ventilators.
While official NHS figures show 2,371,407 people have already been given a vaccine in England, according to statistics released by the National Immunisation Management Service.
The jabs are currently being distributed predominantly to people aged 80 and over who are deemed to be more vulnerable to the virus.
Care home residents and their carers, frontline health and social care workers are also being given prority.
The Government said a further 1,564 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Wednesday
It marked the highest number of UK deaths reported on a single day since the outbreak began. It brings the UK total death toll to 84,767
In the worst-hit London boroughs, the rate could be as high as seven in every 1,000 people, prompting fears London hospitals will be pushed to capacity. Pictured: A medic unloads a patient from an ambulance at the Royal London hospital in east London this morning
A cyclist rides across London’s deserted Westminster Bridge this morning on another day of the national lockdown
People wearing face masks were seen waiting at a bus stop in London this morning amidst news lockdown restrictions could be tightened further
But in inner London, over 80s make up only 2.5% of the population, according to the Trust for London charity.
London’s population is also comparatively young compared to the rest of the country with the average age in the capital reaching 35.6, compared to 40.3 in the UK overall.
Despite the shocking figures, rule breakers continued to flout the restrictions.
Officers in the capital were said to be ‘astounded’ after being called to break up a party at an industrial unit in Southwark last night, where they found at least 20 revellers on top of the building.
Police were called out to reports of loud music coming from the roof by disgusted residents.
Many cheered the police on when they arrived to break up the illegal gathering on Pages Walk, Southwark.
Officers found more than 20 people drinking, eating and playing music, leaving one officer ‘astounded’ at the rule-breaking.
Two people were arrested, including one individual on suspicion of carrying an offensive weapon, while another was arrested for suspected drug dealing.
A further five people were handed fines for breaching Covid restrictions before the party was fully dispersed around 11.30pm.
It led Home Secretary Priti Patel to hit out at those brazenly flouting the restrictions.
She warned police will continue to issue fines and enforce against people who are ‘flagrantly breaching the rules.’
It came as the Home Secretary confirmed the government was not intending to make the lockdown tougher over the next few days.
But the Mayor of London has called for tougher restrictions in a big to halt the virus’ spread.
Announcing the major incident in London last week, Mr Khan called for churches and other places of worship to be closed.
In a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, he also demanded face masks be worn routinely outside of the home, including in supermarket queues and other places outside that may be crowded.
He also wants more financial support for Londoners who need to self-isolate and are unable to work, and for daily vaccination data.
In a statement Mr Khan said: ‘The situation in London is now critical with the spread of the virus out of control.’
Major incidents were declared in London after the Grenfell Tower disaster, the London Bridge and Westminster terror attacks, and the Croydon tram crash in November 2016.
The Covid crush-hour: Moment scores of commuters cram onto Tube amid 540,000 cases in London – as construction workers call for closure of non-essential sites due to fears over journey to work
This is the moment scores of commuters crammed onto the Tube this morning – as construction workers called for a pause to non-essential work due to safety fears.
The footage was filmed at Canning Town station in east London, which is seen as a bottleneck due to the large number of builders and other key workers who live locally and depend on the Tube to travel to work in the city centre. TfL said there was also a service issue at the station this morning.
Despite concerns over the current surge in the virus, work in the construction and manufacturing industries has continued during recent months in all four nations of the UK.
London has been the UK’s Covid hotpot with 540,000 cases since the start of March. However, within the last few days the number of hospital admissions has plateaued, while the latest daily cases suggest the infection rate is coming down.
The footage was filmed at Canning Town station in east London, which is seen as a bottleneck due to the large number of builders and other key workers who live locally and depend on the Tube to travel to work in the city centre. TfL said there was also a service issue at the station this morning
The UK Government, responsible for the rules in England, encourages staff to travel in to sites if they cannot work at home, saying on its website that ‘this is essential to keeping the country operating and supporting sectors and employers’.
However, Will, a supervisor for a number of sites across the south east of England, said many staff he works with do not feel safe, and called for a pause on non-essential construction while cases of the virus were rocketing.
‘A lot of the construction industry just feel so let down and forgotten during this second wave,’ he said.
‘Like most construction workers, we are concerned about losing our jobs or even just looking bad to our companies by calling for sites to close to stop the spread.
‘A lot of guys here either don’t feel safe or, to be honest, don’t care, because if they do not come in they don’t get paid, and not paying bills and putting food on the table is a bigger issue to them.’