London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Covid: Vaccine uptake among over-50s hits 95% in England

Covid: Vaccine uptake among over-50s hits 95% in England

The percentage of over-50s vaccinated has hit 95% in England, NHS data shows.

The take-up among those aged 45-49 is at 59% after they started being offered the jab earlier this month.

But uptake among care home staff - one of the first groups to be offered the jab - is still around 80% despite attempts to get more to come forward.

It comes as figures show that coronavirus was not the leading cause of death in England and Wales in March, for the first time since October.

Covid had been the leading cause of death every month between November and February, according to Office for National Statistics data.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he was "delighted" 95% of over-50s in England had been vaccinated.

He tweeted that the government was on track to offer the vaccine to all adults by the end of July and added that it was "safe and effective".

Meanwhile, the last scheduled flight from India to the UK has landed ahead of new coronavirus curbs being placed on arrivals from the country.

Public Health England (PHE) confirmed on Thursday that a further 55 cases of the virus variant first identified in India were found in the UK in the week to 14 April.

A further 18 people in the UK have died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid, bringing the total by that measure to 127,345.

There have also been a further 2,729 lab-confirmed cases of the virus in the UK.


The latest vaccination figures show more than 33 million people in the UK have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine with more than 10 million having received both doses.

Government data shows that a further 117,909 first doses were given on Wednesday as well as 416,784 second shots.

But despite efforts to increase uptake among care home workers NHS England said 80.4% of eligible staff working at older adult care homes had received the jab by 18 April.

While 72.3% of staff working in independent Care Quality Commission-registered younger adult care homes and domiciliary care providers have received their first dose.

Ministers have launched a consultation on whether care home workers should be required to receive a Covid vaccine, with Mr Hancock saying it was "something many care homes have called for".

On Thursday, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said there had been 168 cases up to 14 April of rare blood clots in the UK in people who had had the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine - resulting in 32 deaths.

With an estimated 21.2 million AstraZeneca jabs given across the UK by that date, the overall case incidence is 7.9 per million doses, the MHRA added.

People aged under 30 are to be offered an alternative vaccine to AstraZeneca, but the medicines regulator said the benefits of the vaccine still outweigh the risks for the vast majority of people.

The latest vaccination figures were released after Margaret Keenan - the first person to be vaccinated in the UK - praised the "incredible" rollout of the jabs.

The 91-year-old was given the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in early December at at University Hospital in Coventry in December.

In an online chat with NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens, Mrs Keenan, originally from Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, urged anyone who has not yet been vaccinated to come forward.

"There's nothing to it, you don't feel anything" she said.

Ms Keenan praised staff who have helped with the rollout of the vaccines: "They're incredible, I cannot find words to say. They're incredible with what they've done."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
×