MORE than half of over 80s in north Essex have been vaccinated for coronavirus, with plans to vaccinate about 10,000 people this weekend.

Colchester's MP Will Quince said several constituents had contacted him concerned about stats showing only 36 per cent of the most vulnerable had been vaccinated.

Suffolk and north east Essex was one of the areas lowest down in the vaccination table as of last Sunday.

Mr Quince said as of today 54 per cent of over 80s in the area have been vaccinated and there was a "plan to accelerate".

Gazette: Colchester MP Will QuinceColchester MP Will Quince

  • Colchester MP Will Quince

He said: "The NHS locally agree that there have been issues but I'm confident they're working hard and have a clear plan to accelerate.

"In addition to logistics issues, we do have one of the highest proportion of care homes in the country in our area and a large older demographic.

"Around 40,000 doses of the vaccine have now been delivered.

"As a result, the NHS locally has a hugely ambitious plan for this weekend which could see up to 10,000 people vaccinated.

"If successful, we should see a significant improvement in the percentage of over 80 vaccinated."

Mr Quince said 80 per cent of care homes had already been vaccinated, with all homes likely to be done by Monday.

Read more:

He added: "This is a huge logistical and operational challenge and whilst I appreciate the anxiety of local residents, I know that the NHS locally supported by volunteers is doing everything to get the vaccine rolled out quickly.

"I would like to again express my sincere thanks to all those working so hard on the vaccine roll out across Suffolk and North East Essex."

The amount of elderly people vaccinated varies depending on where in the country you are, with eastern England sitting just above London at 53% per cent.

It is one of the lowest percentages in the country.

Areas with lower vaccine rates are being targeted by the Government in order to boost their figures.

An NHS spokesperson said: “All available vaccine doses are being delivered to vaccination sites and every GP-led vaccination site is receiving a delivery this week.

“To ensure all of those people in the top priority groups can get vaccinated quickly, targeted deliveries are being made to areas where there are more people left to vaccinate in the priority cohorts.”