THURROCK Council's leader has repeated his call for younger residents in the borough to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

In his weekly online address, Conservative Cllr Rob Gledhill says though levels of infection have 'plateaued' there is still a significant proportion of residents who have not been vaccinated and this poses a risk to the community's health as a while.

Cllr Gledhill says: "We seem to have plateaued on the rate of COVID-19 over the past few weeks. So despite improvements one week and drops the next there needs to be more of a push on preventative measures, including the vaccine.

"We are seeing significant increases in the number of young people testing positive. There have been increases in the number of young people under 18 testing positive and there were nearly five times as many people under the age of 49 testing positive as those aged 50 plus.

"Initially, we got off to an excellent start in Thurrock with regards to vaccination and we are in a position where over 90% of residents aged over 60 have had both doses. Then the numbers of those taking up the offer of a vaccine under that age decline sharply with less than half of residents aged 16 to 39 years old having had both doses.

"The effect this has on the infection rate in that age bracket is clear to see from the numbers below. It is beyond doubt that those in the older age brackets, the vast majority of whom are double vaccinated, make up a tiny minority of those testing positive.

"There is solid evidence of how incredibly effective the vaccines are. Those who have received both doses of the vaccine are 90% less likely to end up seriously ill in hospital as a result of coronavirus and data from Public Health England and Cambridge University shows that around 60,000 deaths, 22 million infections and 66,900 hospitalisations have been prevented by the vaccines.

"Walk-in vaccinations, without appointments are available from 9am to 6:30pm this Saturday (today, 9 October) and Sunday at the Alastair Farquharson Centre, Thurrock Community Hospital, Long Lane, Grays. It is also easy to book an appointment through the NHS COVID-19 vaccination website.

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"I urge everyone who has not yet taken up the offer of a vaccine to make sure they get the excellent protection they offer without delay. It will make them and their loved ones so much safer from the risks posed by coronavirus."