The Covid-19 vaccines are helping to weaken the link between the disease and serious illness and death but Reading is lagging behind large swathes of the country in vaccine uptake.

While two thirds of the UK adult population have now received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, in Reading just 44 per cent of the adult population have been double-jabbed.

This puts Reading in the bottom 20 across the UK for double-jab vaccination.

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For first doses, Reading fares slightly better, ranking 34th from bottom with 68.4 per cent of residents having received one jab, compared to 87.4 per cent in the UK.

Reading is slightly below the national average for Covid-19 vaccine uptake across all age groups, but why?

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) spoke to Reading Borough Council’s (RBC) public health specialists to find out why this is the case.

David Munday, RBC’s Public Health Consultant: “This is not entirely unexpected as Reading also has lower than average uptake on other established vaccination programmes, such as seasonal flu and childhood immunisations.

“There are a number of reasons for lower uptake.

“We have a diverse community in Reading, more so than in some other areas, with a large range across socioeconomic status and ethnic groups.

“This can affect uptake in many ways, for example if people don’t have the means to get to a vaccination centre or simply don’t hear the message.

“Reading has a comparatively young population who until recently have not been able to access the national vaccine programme.

“Reading also has a more transient population, for example students or workers who live here for a short time and then move on.

“What that means is some of the data may be weak here – the data may show low uptake among some groups but in fact those people have left Reading.”

Mr Munday said the council is working hard to tackle these issues and has specialist community outreach officers to help get messages out to groups who may not hear through other means, for example by using community radio stations and social media channels.

Where appropriate, the council brings in spokespeople from the local community, uses translated materials, and runs targeted meetings over Zoom to address specific questions and concerns.

The NHS Health on the Move Van is coming to Oxford Road on Thursday, July 15, and Friday, July 16 (midday until 6pm), where the Covid vaccine will be available to anyone who would like it, along with the opportunity to discuss health concerns with healthcare professionals.

No appointment is needed and you do not need to be registered with a GP to visit the van, which will be parked at the Oxford Road Community Centre, Old Battle Hospital Site, 344 Oxford Road, Reading, RG30 1AF.

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The walk-in vaccination clinic will also be open again at the council’s Civic Offices this weekend for one weekend only, on July 17 and 18.

Opening times are 9.30am-5.30pm for everyone in Reading aged 18.

The council also has teams out on the streets in areas of low take-up to knock on doors and check who is living in the property and who has taken up their vaccine invite, so it can see if it is a problem with the data or an issue of vaccine hesitancy that the council can help overcome.