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As many as 6 million eligible Britons may not have had a Covid jab. Who are they?

<span>Photograph: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images</span>
Photograph: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images

Hundreds of cases of the new Omicron Covid-19 variant have now been confirmed in the UK and experts have called for a renewed focus on vaccination rates.

As of 4 December, just over eight in 10 people aged 12 or older UK-wide had received two doses of a coronavirus vaccine, according to data from the UK Health Security Agency, while 89% had received a first dose. This means about 6 million eligible people may still be unvaccinated, based on ONS population figures as opposed to counts of GP records. So who are they?

Young people

Detailed age breakdowns for England and Scotland reveal it is largely young people who are not yet fully vaccinated. About 60% of under-40s in both nations have received two doses, compared with over 90% of those aged 40 or over.

About a third of English 18-24-year-olds have not yet been double-jabbed, falling to 30% of those aged 25 to 29. The government dashboard does not provide an age breakdown for Wales or Northern Ireland.

Scotland has been more successful in giving the vaccine to young people, according to Guardian analysis. Just under two-thirds of those aged 18 or under in Scotland have received a first dose, compared with 53% in England.

Dr Kit Yates, a senior lecturer at the University of Bath, said: “For young adults, the reasons behind the lower uptake may more be due to messaging than to accessibility. The government chose to remove all restrictions on 19 July before everyone in the country had been offered the opportunity to be jabbed. The message that sends is that it is not important for young people to be vaccinated, so it’s unsurprising to see the lower uptake rates in these younger age groups.

“Rather than encouraging young people to get the jab by emphasising the benefits of vaccination to the individuals themselves, government ministers like Michael Gove have decried young people who have not had the jab as selfish.

“In contrast to other countries, England has not instated vaccine passes for entry into nightclubs and other venues. Such measures have been credited with improving vaccine take-up in younger people in countries like France.”

Older people

However, there are still big disparities in vaccination uptake at a local level, even among older age groups.

In some local authorities, virtually all adults aged 60-plus have received two doses of a vaccine. However, in Westminster, only 68% of the 60-plus population are fully vaccinated, the lowest in the country. The other areas with the lowest vaccination rates are also in the capital: in Camden, Tower Hamlets and Kensington and Chelsea, at least a fifth of those in the 60-plus age group have not yet received a second dose.

London has consistently lagged behind other regions in terms of vaccination coverage.

In some parts of the city, highly mobile populations and large numbers of second homes may mean vaccination figures look worse than they really are; however, problems with reaching marginalised groups are also a factor.

Black and Asian people

Vaccination rates also vary by ethnicity, with disparities again visible even among older age groups. A fifth of black people aged 80 or older remain unvaccinated, the highest proportion of any ethnic group, according to data from OpenSAFELY using records from GP practices.

By contrast, virtually all white people aged 80 or older have been vaccinated, while about 10% of south Asian people in the same age group have not yet been jabbed.

An official report published last week found that poor vaccine coverage was a cause of severe Covid in some black and Asian groups, despite programmes to improve underwhelming vaccine uptake.

Related: ‘I dread Christmas. My husband won’t get jabbed’: The families split over Covid vaccines as they plan holiday gatherings

Booster jabs

The UK is pinning its hopes on the swift deployment of booster jabs to deal with the threat posed by the Omicron variant, and the government is aiming for half a million jabs a day.

The latest data shows that 60% of the UK’s population aged 40 or over has received a third coronavirus vaccination, with younger age groups expected to be called in coming weeks.

Again, the local authorities with the lowest booster vaccination rates are in London: just 36% of Tower Hamlets residents have received a third vaccination, while the rate in Westminster and Newham was about four in 10.