Around two-thirds of Covid patients at Salford Royal are not fully vaccinated.
Of the 50 Covid patients at the hospital, eight of which are in critical care, between 30 and 35 pc have received both doses of the coronavirus vaccine.
The number of people being hospitalised because of Covid has risen, but not at the same speed as the infection rate which is now starting to ‘stabilise’.
READ MORE: ‘Unprecedented’ pressure at hospitals hit by staff shortages and rising demand
In the first wave of the pandemic last year, the average age of Covid patients at Salford Royal Hospital was around 73 years old – now, the average age is 50.
More than 70 pc of adults in Salford, and more than 85pc of over-50s, have had their first jab, according to the local clinical commissioning group (CCG).
Salford CCG chief accountable officer Steve Dixon
(Image: Salford CCG)
Salford CCG chief accountable officer Steve Dixon said the lower average age of Covid patients in hospital reflects the rollout of the vaccination programme.
He said: “The vaccination programme is effective.
“It doesn’t provide a fail-safe and prevent people from being hospitalised.
“Some people still go to hospital even after having been vaccinated and receiving the two jabs.
“But that is a significant lower percentage and evidence of good protection in terms of the severity of the illness after having two vaccines.”
There are no neighbourhoods or communities with a particularly low uptake of the vaccine, but there has been more hesitancy within the younger population.
Mobile and pop-up vaccination clinics are being deployed to ‘mop up’ areas with lower uptake, but Dixon said there are no particular places of concern.
It comes as the NHS is under ‘extreme pressure’ in Greater Manchester.
More 999 calls means people are waiting longer for an ambulance to arrive, with response times for the least urgent cases taking more than nine hours.
A&E attendance is now higher than it was before the coronavirus crisis – and social distancing measures are still in place within emergency departments.
Jo is a Local Democracy Reporter covering councils, the NHS and other public services in Salford and Wigan.
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Meanwhile, the workforce is stretched as many staff are forced to self-isolate.
Dixon told the CCG governing body that staff have been doing a ‘fantastic’ job, but are ‘very tired, very stressed and very exhausted’ due to the pandemic.
He said: “We’ve got a very tired, burnt out workforce pulling out all the stops and doing everything that they can.
“But there are fewer people working in our services at the moment trying to treat and care for more patients and more demand.
“That is the reality of the situation.”
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