As NHS teams in the North East and Yorkshire continue to jab up to 11,000 people a day against Covid-19, vaccination leaders are reaching out to people who remain unvaccinated to take up the ‘Evergreen’ offer of protection against the Omicron variant and the risk of serious illness.

All adults in the region are eligible for a full course of Covid vaccinations and that offer remains open. The NHS has delivered a total of 17.6 million doses regionally at hubs and pop-up sites, including 4.8 million vital booster jabs, in the largest and fastest vaccine drive in NHS history.

Dr Yvette Oade, the NHS region’s clinical lead for the Covid-19 vaccination programme, said staff, volunteers and partners are working hard to make getting protected as easy as possible.

“We are still seeing people come forward for their first doses and are pleased and delighted to welcome them,” Dr Oade said. “We also have people coming forward for their second doses and for boosters jabs.

“During a two-and-a-half-week period last month we did a massive number of booster doses in the North East and Yorkshire, with an extra half a million people vaccinated in that short period – this is a real tribute to our vaccination services and to the public for coming forward.

“We want to make it as easy as possible for people to get a vaccination as they go about their day, so we have vaccination buses going out to supermarket car parks, and teams visiting workplaces to help people who, for various reasons, have difficulty getting to a vaccination centre.”

Latest figures show just over one million adults in the North East and Yorkshire remain unvaccinated against Covid, while almost 650,000 people aged under 40 have not yet received their booster jab. The booster jab offers a much higher level of protection against Omicron than two doses, making it important to come forward for the jab to protect against severe disease and hospitalisation.

Dr Oade said the percentage of pregnant women vaccinated against Covid is increasing, but unvaccinated pregnant women are still a high risk group. “We want to encourage those women and support them to get the vaccine, and we are looking at how we can make it more available in hospital antenatal clinics,” she said. The Government has published guidance on Covid vaccination for pregnant and breastfeeding women.

To book your Covid vaccination, visit the National Booking Service, use the NHS online walk-in finder to find the nearest walk-in site, or call the free 119 phone line.

Dr Oade added: “If you know anybody who isn’t vaccinated, or who’s deferred having their second or booster doses, please point them in our direction because we can answer their questions or concerns and support people to have their life-saving vaccine.”