Under 30s are coming forward for COVID vaccines in record numbers

Coronavirus vaccines were opened up for England residents between the ages of 25-29 on Tuesday, with more than a million people booking their jabs through the NHS website within just 24 hours - a record amount.

Roughly 45,000 appointments were booked each hour

Concerns that the nation’s youth may have reservations about COVID vaccines have been left in the dust as a total of 1,082,596 first and second jabs were booked on Tuesday, all within 24 hours of the vaccine programme opening up to residents under 30. That’s the equivalent of 45,000 appointments per hour or more than 750 every minute.

The incredible number officially beats the previous vaccine booking record of 279,678 doses, made on the 7th of June.

Figures include both numbers from the NHS booking platform as well as vaccine appointments made through the 119 call line. And, while many GPs have registered with the national booking platform, some are booking appointments separately, meaning vaccine appointment numbers could be even higher.

England residents under 30 are being messaged in groups this week, with instructions on booking their coronavirus vaccines. The initial wave of texts on Tuesday prompted the first wave of bookings, amounting to over 100,000 per hour between 7am and midday.

NHS Chief Executive Sir Simon Stevens commented on the enthusiasm towards the vaccines, stating bookings have been driven to ‘blockbuster levels.’

Enthusiasm for the biggest and most successful vaccination programme remains strong as bookings for the lifesaving jab reached an all-time high yesterday. And the obvious enthusiasm of younger adults to get their jab has blown out of the water the suggestion that people in their 20s might not come forward to protect themselves and their loved ones.

Britain's youth have had a perspective change when it comes to COVID vaccines

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), vaccine sentiment in those under 30 is lower than the national average. But growing evidence suggests that Britain’s youth have had a huge perspective shift towards the vaccine despite being less likely to suffer from COVID complications or severe infections.

Reports showed that between the 10th and 13th of December last year, positive vaccine sentiment in those aged 16-29 was at just 63%. The number then rose to 85% between the 19th and 23rd of May this year. In comparison, the national average for UK adults has increased from 78% to 95% over the same period.

Theories suggest that Britain’s youth are now more inclined to get vaccinated as, in many ways, the last year of lockdown has hit them the hardest. Not only did coronavirus restrictions place delays and complications in education, but ONS figures revealed that those aged 16-24 made up 61% of those who had lost their jobs due to the pandemic.

For those eager to book their vaccines, an estimated three million messages will be going out this week, and GPs will also be making calls to patients independently. Bookings can be made for any of the 1,600 vaccination centres through your GP, by calling 119, or you can even use the NHS booking service.