Covid: Cambridge's 'double whammy' of high rates and low vaccinations

An area where Covid-19 cases have more than doubled in week has a "double whammy" of high infection rates and low vaccine uptake, a health official said.

The infection rate in Cambridge was 273 cases per 100,000 people in the week to 28 June, up from 131 per 100,000 the previous week.

It also has one of the lowest vaccination rates in England.

Director of public of health for Peterborough and Cambridgeshire, Jyoti Atri, said it was a "concern".

Ms Atri said the rise was "initially associated with trips to London" but now appeared to be down to transmission in schools and in the night-time economy.

"We know when alcohol is consumed adherence to protective behaviour goes down," she said.

She also said she expected rates to rise if restrictions were further eased on 19 July.

According to government figures, 59% of adults in Cambridge have had the first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, and 34% a second dose.

That rate is in the bottom 15 local authority areas and, outside London, only Oxford had a lower vaccination uptake.

Government statistics show there have been no deaths from Covid-19 in Cambridge since the end of February.

Ms Atri said: "We've got a double whammy, we've got high rates of transmission alongside low rates of vaccination.

"I'm particularly concerned about second doses in those age groups which are higher risk."

She said one of the reasons for the low vaccination rates was Cambridge has "a younger population and they've only just come into the age bracket where they can get their vaccination".

"It partially explains that but it's not the whole picture," she added.

Ms Arti said there would be "more capacity" for vaccination in coming weeks, including walk-in sessions.

She added: "Hospitalisation is low, the death rate is low and the rate in the over-60s is low.

"But I'm anxious as rates continue to increase it could get into those populations and while vaccination is low there is a double risk."

Analysis by BBC Radio 4's More or Less programme suggested the vaccination rate in Cambridge is artificially low.

The percentage of people vaccinated is based on the number of people on the National Immunisation Management Service (NIMS) database.

Those are people registered with the NHS with a Cambridge address.

The number of adults in Cambridge on the NIMS database is 156,836, but the population estimate from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) is 125,063.

In comparison, every other area in Cambridgeshire has a lower number of people on the NIMS database than the population estimate from the ONS.

It has been suggested the discrepancy in the two population figures was down to students registering with a GP in the city, and not deregistering when they move away.

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