80% Of COVID-19 Hospital Patients Under 60 Unvaccinated

New figures have revealed that 80% of COVID-19 hospital in-patients who are under the age of 60 are totally unvaccinated – which is "just one of the stark facts" underlining the importance of getting both vaccine doses, the Department for Health has said.

The information relates to hospital in-patients across Northern Ireland on 09 August. The figures also show:

• Of 267 in-patients with COVID-19 across NI, 114 were aged under 60. Of these patients aged less than 60, 91 were totally unvaccinated – having received neither first nor second dose.

• People who are totally unvaccinated account for 52% of all COVID-19 in-patients of all ages in our hospitals. That's despite unvaccinated people now making up just 15% of the NI adult population (aged 18 and over).

• By contrast, almost 1.1 million people in NI have now received both vaccine doses. Of these, just 109 were in hospital with the virus on 09 August.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Lourda Geoghegan said: "The evidence in support of vaccine effectiveness is very clear. While the current prevalence of the virus in Northern Ireland remains a serious cause for concern, we would be in a much worse situation but for our vaccination programme.

"Vaccination protects us, it protects our families and protects others. It helps us reclaim normality.

"Of course, vaccination doesn't totally eradicate all risk – no vaccine in history has ever been 100% effective 100% of the time. But it does make us significantly safer – it shifts the odds in our favour.

"Vaccination cuts our risk of getting seriously ill or dying from COVID-19 by around 95% and it also reduces our risk of catching or spreading the SARS-CoV-2 virus."

NI's vaccination programme was launched in December last year. Back in December 2020, for every 1000 cases of COVID-19, in the region of 80 people were admitted to hospital. Now it's around 22 admissions per 1000 cases.