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Number of Covid jabs given in Norfolk and Waveney hits six-week high
The number of Covid jabs administered in Norfolk and Waveney during the latest seven-day period has reached a six-week high - Credit: Ian Burt
The number of coronavirus jabs administered in Norfolk and Waveney during the latest period has reached a six-week high.
Fresh data published by NHS England shows 59,879 first doses were given to patients in the seven days up to March 21.
That is up from 37,561 last week and just 35,253 in the week up to March 7, a low which health bosses put down to a decline in vaccine supply.
The new figures serve as a welcome boost ahead of April, when availability is expected to drop due to a delay in shipments.
This week's total is the highest since the seven days ending February 7, when more than 60,000 shots were administered.
Another 58,879 people across Norfolk and Waveney have received initial doses, while 8,480 were given second injections and are now fully vaccinated.
More than 32,000 patients in the area have already had second jabs, a total which is set to rise rapidly in the coming weeks as the programme moves into its fifth month.
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With 60.7pc of its adult population having been given first doses - 516,879 in all - Norfolk and Waveney still has the fifth-highest vaccination rate in the country.
A Covid jab being administered at the large-scale centre in Castle Quarter, Norwich - Credit: Danielle Booden
When it comes to the proportion of under-50s given a vaccine, the area is third on the national list with 25.6pc.
On Thursday, Norfolk and Waveney CCG - which has been leading the rollout - clarified that vaccination clinics were not supposed to be offering jabs to younger groups until given permission to do so.
Instead, they must wait for NHS England, the government and the JCVI to officially move the programme into its next phase, during which the remaining 21 million people under the age of 50 with no medical conditions will be invited for appointments.
The majority of those under 50 who have received shots already are either frontline health and care workers or have seriously underlying health conditions.
Broken down by local authority, North Norfolk is top of the pile across the entire country, with almost two thirds (66.1pc) having had at least one jab so far.
East Suffolk ranks eighth (62.8pc), while Norwich is way down in 262nd (41.5pc) out of 312 districts.
A Covid jab is administered at the large-scale centre in Harleston - Credit: Sonya Duncan
