Anti-Vaxxers Must Face Consequences Of Their Selfishness

If you’re paying even the slightest attention to the news it’s impossible to escape a barrage of statistics. But in recent days two figures leapt out at me.

- Stephen Pollard

On Sunday, an astonishing 919,521 people had their third dose of vaccine.

When the PM announced the new jabs campaign last week, few thought it likely it would hit its target of ensuring everyone who needed a booster had one by the end of the year.

And while that still seems unlikely – some 17.7 million people still need another shot, requiring around 1.25 million doses a day delivered over the next fortnight – it is nonetheless an incredible achievement.

But for all that, another statistic puts the booster push in perspective: almost a third of Londoners are completely unvaccinated.

Indeed, of the 14 areas of Britain with the lowest vaccination rates, everyone is a London borough, including Westminster where four in 10 people have not had a jab.

Outside London, the North West and West Midlands have the highest proportion of unvaccinated at 21 per cent. Overall, between 4 and 5 million have not been jabbed.

SO IT is hardly a surprise that the Omicron surge began in the capital, or that London Mayor Sadiq Khan declared it a “major incident”.

On December 17, there were 1,534 Covid patients in hospital in London – up 28.6 per cent in just a week. Nationally, 7,611 Covid patients were in hospital – up just 2 per cent in a week.