Under pressure: hospital admissions with covid are almost all from unvaccinated people
Nearly every adult hospitalised with covid-19 in Croydon and south-west London over the past two months had not been fully vaccinated with two doses and a booster.
Local operational figures for five major NHS hospitals in this part of London in October and November show that 97 per cent of the adults being confined to hospital with covid-19 symptoms were not fully vaccinated with their first, second and booster dose.
The figures, from Croydon’s Mayday, St George’s Hospital in Tooting, Kingston Hospital, Epsom Hospital and St Helier Hospital, also show that having the two doses plus the top-up meant people were eight times less likely to get seriously ill with covid.
The data was collected by the South West London Infection, Prevention and Control Forum.
Jabbed: there have been concerns raised about the poor take-up of the covid vaccine in Croydon
The data further highlighted that having had even one dose of the vaccine meant people were half as likely to be admitted to hospital because of covid-19, while having two doses meant people were three times less likely to be admitted to hospital because of the virus.
Dr Nicola Jones, a local GP and clinical lead for south-west London’s vaccination programme, said: “These figures highlight the importance of covid-19 vaccinations and, with Omicron cases rising, I would urge everyone not to delay having their booster to top up their immunity and help keep themselves and their loved ones safe.
“It is also a reminder that it is never late too late to get vaccinated.
“The offer from the NHS is evergreen, so please do not hesitate to come forward to give yourself as much protection as possible – we’re making it as easy as we can to get jabbed with a host of clinics across south-west London.”
Over the next week, opening hours for local vaccine centres are being extended and the number of appointments in place is being increased.
Online bookings are available for everyone aged 18 and over.
More than 19million booster doses have already been delivered in England.
Appointments can be made online through the national booking service, by clicking here.
Going up: the latest figures for positive covid cases reported in Croydon shows a rapid increase over the past week
People are asked to keep checking availability as more appointments are loaded on to the system every day.
Alternatively, call 119.
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