MORE than half of people in Colchester have received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, it has been revealed.

NHS data shows 90,830 people had received a vaccine jab by April 11 – 57 per cent of those aged 16 and above, according to the latest population estimates from the Office for National Statistics.

Of those vaccinated, 65,774 were aged 50 and over – 97 per cent of the age group.

It means 25,056 people aged between 16 to 49 have received a first dose of the vaccine.

A spokesman for the Essex Partnership University Trust, which is managing the vaccine rollout in the area, said: "There are currently 17 NHS large vaccination centres in Essex and Suffolk.

"These can give hundreds of vaccines a day, thousands a week, scaling up and down according to vaccine supplies."

The data also reveals variation in coverage between different areas across Colchester.

The proportion of residents prioritised for vaccinations, such as those aged 50 and over, is one factor that could affect vaccine coverage.

Areas with the highest coverage:

1) West Mersea, with 74 per cent of people aged 16 and over given their first dose

2) West Bergholt and Wormingford, 72.7

3) Prettygate and Westlands, 72.2 per cent

Areas with the lowest coverage:

1) Greenstead, 31.9 per cent

2) Wivenhoe & University, 39.2 per cent

3) New Town & Hythe, 40.4 per cent

Across England, 26.9 million people had received their first dose of a vaccine by April 11, covering 59% per cent of the population aged 16 and over.

That includes 20 million people aged 50 and over – 95 per cent of the age group.

The figures also show that 6.4 million people have had a second dose of the jab – 14 per cent of people over 16.

A small number of people are not included due to their age being unknown.