Covid-19: Young urged to get jabbed as cases spike

The Department of Health in NI has reported the highest daily number of Covid-19 cases since mid-February.

There were 375 cases confirmed in the past 24 hours. No deaths were reported on Wednesday.

Northern Ireland's chief medical officer and chief scientific adviser appealed to young people to come forward for jabs.

Just over 50% of those aged 18 and over and about two-thirds of 30-40 years old have had a first dose.

In the past seven days, more than 700 people aged under 19 have tested positive for the virus. That is 10 times more than in the over-60 age group.

About 95% of all those aged 50 and over have had a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. Overall, about 60% of adults are fully vaccinated with two doses.

Northern Ireland's chief scientific adviser Prof Ian Young said the numbers, particularly for young people, need to be higher.

"At the moment, just over half of our 18-30s and about two-thirds of our 30-40s have had a first dose of the vaccine," Prof Young said.

"We need about 90% of those age groups to get the first dose of their vaccine before the end of July.

"That's the sort of race that we're in," he added.

Prof Young said that if the number of cases kept doubling at the rate they have been in the past seven days, then without greater vaccine uptake, Northern Ireland would be on track for more than 1,000 new cases a day by the end of July.

There were 20 people in hospital with covid on Wednesday, up by one from the previous 24 hours, while the number in ICU remained at two.

Chief medical officer Sir Michael McBride also urged young people to get vaccinated, and appealed to their parents to encourage them to do so as well.

"We can limit this surge and the damage it may do through the actions we all take right now," he said.

"First and foremost, this means getting fully vaccinated with both vaccine doses and also means continuing to follow public health advice to stop the virus spreading."

Sir Michael encouraged people to avoid "cramped or crowded indoor settings with poor ventilation".

He also said that "vaccination is key" and "so too is avoiding complacency".

"The worst thing we could do right now is imagine that this is over, that the risk has gone," he added.

Meanwhile Health Minister Robin Swann welcomed advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) suggesting that a booster programme for vaccinations could be rolled out by September.

"The booster programme will provide additional protection for our most vulnerable and will help protect our health service ahead of the winter months," he said.

The JCVI will publish further advice before September taking into account the latest information from trials and the guidance from scientists and said their advice could change based on those factors.