Third of over-70s get second dose as infection rates plummet

A third of people over the age of 70 in Greater Manchester have received their second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine as infection rates continue to fall.

There were 63.5 cases per 100,000 people across the city-region in the week ending April 3, down from 91.8 the week before.

All boroughs recorded a significant drop in positive Covid test results during the same period, though the overall infection rate is still higher than the national average of 36.6.

The number of cases is expected to increase slightly in some areas as schools resume rapid testing when pupils return after the Easter holidays.

More than 1.26 million people in Greater Manchester have had their first jab as of April 7, with 212,792 people aged 18 to 70 receiving their second dose.

The vaccination programme has given a first dose to 51 per cent of the adult population, while progress is ongoing to increase takeup in communities with high levels of ‘vaccine hesitancy’.

Sir Richard Leese, chair of the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, has urged people get their first and second jabs to keep the positive momentum going.

He said: “All of this is good news but to keep that good news up we need to make sure the vaccination programme continues to be successful.

“The progress we have made could easily be lost if people think the problem’s all over.

“Getting that second vaccination is really important to keeping us on the right track to making sure we are able to start returning life to something like normal.”

The leader of Manchester council had ‘no doubt’ that the success of the vaccination programme was having a positive impact on the situation in hospitals.

Weekly admissions for Covid-19 fell from 53 to 34 in the week to April 6, with the number of patients diagnosed with the virus while in hospital falling from 105 to 69.

There were fewer people in intensive care with 48 beds occupied as of April 7 – the lowest total in three weeks.

The number of non-emergency beds being used also dropped to 219.

Sir Richard said that hospitals would continue to work through huge backlogs of non-urgent operation, which will take weeks and months to clear as opposed to ‘days and weeks’.

Meanwhile, the percentage of care home residents with Covid-19, or who have shown symptoms, has stayed below one per cent for two weeks running.

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