Nottingham has the fifth-highest percentage of unvaccinated young people, government figures show.
Latest estimates for the 18 – 29-year-old age group show that 44 per cent of young adults in the city have not received their jab yet.
This leaves Nottingham with the fifth-highest percentage of unvaccinated young people in the UK, behind Liverpool (45.7 per cent), Islington (45.8 per cent), Coventry (48.8 per cent), and Birmingham, which tops the list with 50.3 per cent.
As most students are starting or returning to universities across the UK for the new academic year, Professor Stephen Powis, National Medical Director of NHS England, urged young people to get their jab “as soon as possible”.
He said: “Starting university is a really exciting time and getting your Covid vaccine means you will be armed with maximum protection against the virus.
“With many universities set to run pop-ups and walk-ins throughout the first weeks of term it has never been easier to get protected, so I urge anyone yet to be vaccinated to take up the offer as soon as possible.”
While almost 100,000 people aged 18 – 29 were eligible for their first dose of the Covid vaccine as of September 19, only half of them have come forward to get their jab.
Students have expressed their frustration regarding the figures.
Megan Lewis, NTU Journalism student, said: “It’s frustrating as we all want the world to go back to normal but young people who aren’t getting vaccinated aren’t helping the cases get lower.”
Molly Cottee Tantum, another NTU Journalism student, continued: “It’s pretty bad, I know I’ve had my jabs as well as the people I know.
“I think students and young people think they’re indestructible or something and aren’t taking it seriously.”
According to the same figures, 60 per cent of people aged 18 to 24 in Nottingham have had their first dose of the vaccine, in comparison to 70 per cent of over 30s.
The percentage of unvaccinated young people in Nottingham is part of the almost 6 million people in the UK who are eligible for their first dose of the Covid vaccine but have chosen not to get it.
Lead image: Rucsandra Moldoveanu