Almost 170,000 vaccinated against COVID across Herts and West Essex

Figures up to January 24 show that 169,792 people across Hertfordshire and West Essex have had at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine.

Of the six integrated care systems that cover the East of England, our local NHS provider remains the one that has vaccinated the most people.

Herts and West Essex NHS, which serves a population of 1.6 million people, has vaccinated 77,400 (82.6 per cent) of the area's over 80s to January 24, with 14,062 having received their full course of the vaccine.

A further 92,392 (8.1 per cent) of people under the age of 80 - including NHS staff and the clinically extremely vulnerable - have also been vaccinated against COVID-19. 3,034 of those have had both doses.

A total of 13 per cent of the entire population of Herts and West Essex have been vaccinated. Across the entire East of England, vaccines have been administered to 15.2 per cent of the population.

There are now 23 groups of GP practices working together to offer widespread vaccination coverage across the county. Patients in the current priority groups that are being vaccinated who are yet to be contacted about their jab are still being asked not to call to make an appointment.

To assist the vaccination programme, the NHS are asking patients to wait to be contacted to book an appointment, attend said appointments, and continuing to follow all government guidance both before and after having the vaccine.