Maggie Throup questioned by Ben Thompson on booster

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The Omicron variant has a selection of unique mutations that allow it to pierce through defences created by the first two vaccines, opening up an entirely new pandemic for many well-covered countries. Officials have found the booster reforges the lost immunity back to around 80 percent, and first-world nations have embarked on ambitious booster programmes. But recent data has found mixed success in the UK, where some regions have struggled to boost adults aged 18 and over.

Figures published by NHS England showed that up to January 2, the UK’s most populous and densely occupied regions are the least covered.

Some of the country’s biggest cities have the lowest rates, with fewer than half of their residents accepting their booster offer.

Nottingham has the lowest acceptance rate in the UK, with just 42.8 percent of its estimated 331,297 population dosed with a third jab.

Manchester, which has more than 200,000 more inhabitants, is a close second with 45.7 percent.

Birmingham, the most populous city outside of London, has the third-lowest coverage.

Approximately 46.9 of residents have received their booster so far.

While Birmingham doesn’t have the lowest booster rate, it has the fewest people vaccinated due to its booming population.

As of 2019, 1.149 million people live in the city, meaning more than 574,000 – more than Manchester’s entire 553,230 population as of the same year – have not had their boosted.

Liverpool is behind Birmingham in fourth place, with 49.1 percent of its 496,784 residents covered.

London is also struggling with delivering vaccines, with several boroughs far below the national average.

Newham has the lowest take up in the city of 8.982 million, with only 38.5 percent of adults coming forward.

Tower Hamlets is almost level with the borough, with a similarly negligible rate of 38.6 percent.

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Barking & Dagenham and Westminster are not far behind on 39.2 and 40.3 percent respectively.

The same NHS data has revealed which parts of the country have the highest proportion of people willing to come forward.

Many are smaller isolated communities with ageing populations in the countryside.

Atop them all is Cotswold in Gloucestershire, where 83 percent of all adults have received theirs.

Hart in Hampshire is a close second with 82.8 percent, followed by Warwickshire town Stratford-upon-Avon with 82.4 percent.

The news comes as health officials in some countries weigh up ordering a fourth jab.

Stephane Bancel, who heads the Moderna pharmaceutical company responsible for creating and manufacturing one of the most effective Covid vaccines, said another jab could become necessary in the Autumn.

She said immunity would ultimately wane, and people would require boosters from “the fall of ’22 and forward”.

As officials debate whether or not they want to order another vaccine dose, several countries have struggled to get their first off the ground.

Figures from Our World In Data have found poorer nations with less than a single percent coverage.

These include in Africa, where combining the population of each country shows approximately 90 percent of people are unvaccinated.

India is also falling short, with 56 percent of residents yet to have their second jab.

The below 10 nations are the least vaccinated in the world by partial coverage:

• Burundi: <0.1 percent
• Congo: 0.3 percent
• Haiti: 1.1 percent
• Chad: 1.8 percent
• Yemen: 1.9 percent
• South Sudan: 2.1 percent
• Niger: 2.2 percent
• Madagascar: 3.0 percent
• Cameroon: 3.2 percent
• Papua New Guinea: 3.3 percent
• Tanzania: 3.6 percent

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