BRADFORD’S health chief says the district needs a “high number” of vaccines so the roll-out can be accelerated to younger age groups in the face of “stubborn” Covid-19 infection rates. 

Latest analysis shows Bradford has the second highest rate in England and recorded the highest number of new cases in the country in the seven days to April 12.

In that time, Bradford recorded 486 new cases, equating to an infection rate per 100,000 people of 90.0.

That was up from 418 cases the previous week.
Wakefield recorded 265 new cases and an infection rate of 76.1, down from 341 cases the previous week; Kirklees recorded 334 new cases and infection rate of 75.9, up from 305 cases; Leeds recorded 421 new cases and infection rate of 53.1, down from 615, while Calderdale recorded 64 new cases and infection rate of 30.3, down from 89.

And Bradford is lagging behind both the regional and national averages in the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine.

So far, the Government says it has offered the vaccine to every person over the age of 50 in the country; the people most at risk of death or serious illness if they contract Covid.

Nationally, 88.9 per cent of people aged over 50 have taken up the offer, but in Bradford that figure is lower, on 86.4 per cent – the lowest rate in West Yorkshire for the over 50s.

Wakefield has the highest uptake, at 91.6 per cent, followed by Calderdale (90.2 per cent), Kirklees (89.9 per cent), and Leeds (88.9 per cent); Bradford trails behind by 2.5 per cent.

In every age group in the over 50s, Bradford also lags behind the national average; for 50 to 54-year-olds the figure in Bradford is 77.1 per cent (82 per cent nationally), 55-59s is 83.2 per cent (nationally 85.2 per cent), 60-64 is 86 per cent (87.9 per cent), 65-69 is 88.7 per cent (90.9 per cent), 70-74 is 92.4 per cent (93.6 per cent), 75-79 is 94 per cent (94.8 per cent), and in the over 80s is 93.3 per cent (94.7 per cent).

For the total population, across the UK about 61 per cent of people have now had at least one dose, but in Bradford that figure stands at 49.6 per cent. Leeds is the only area with a lower figure (48.6 per cent), while Calderdale, Wakefield and Kirklees have all vaccinated more than half of their adult populations.

Bradford as a district has a young population; 277,768 of the 464,884 adults – 59.8 per cent – are aged under 50, which goes some way to explain why the total number is low, but the lagging rate in over 50s is still a cause for concern.

Sarah Muckle, Bradford Council’s Director of Public Health said Bradford is recognised as an “area of stubborn and enduring transmission” and added: “We have always been concerned that this has meant our rates have remained high and throughout the pandemic have reduced slower than other areas”.

She said work continues to promote and encourage vaccine uptake, but added: “We would like to see Bradford getting a high number of vaccinations so that we can accelerate the roll-out to younger age groups.”

Mrs Muckle added: “Our high levels of infection are down to a number of factors including the high number of the people in the district employed in key worker roles, larger households where the virus can spread more easily among family members and Bradford having a young population, many of which are yet to be vaccinated because the Government has said they are not yet old enough to be vaccinated.

“We are continuously reviewing our response and asking national Government to work with us to reduce the spread of the virus as fast as possible. 

“We continue to review our Covid testing programme so that it remains accessible to all and we continue to encourage everyone to be tested with or without symptoms so that we have the best chance of maintaining the spread of the virus.”

Self-isolation payments and support have also been increased.

The Department of Health and Social Care were contacted for a comment, but did not respond by the time of going to press.