COVID vaccines have been given to teenagers in Bolton amid a surge in the Indian variant as local officials defy the government.
Jabs were fast-tracked to residents as young as 17, with more than 9,000 people vaccinated in the area at the weekend.
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Hundreds of people in their twenties and thirties were seen queuing up despite the government saying people under 38 aren’t eligible.
But doctors in Bolton are giving on-the-spot assessments for people who live in areas most hit by the rise in Covid cases.
The Indian variant is becoming the dominant strain of the virus in Bolton, with the government refusing to rule out a new local lockdown.
Dr Helen Wall, who is leading the town’s vaccination programme, said: “If you are not sure if you are eligible, get yourself down here today, we will check it out for you.”
‘FREEDOM’
On Saturday, Andy Morgan, a Bolton councillor tweeted that the vaccination team would “find a reason to vaccinate you”.
Huge queues were seen as locals lined up to get a Covid vaccine after claims that all residents could get a jab.
Cllr Morgan later deleted the post, but teenagers confirmed they were sill able to receive the vaccination yesterday.
Isabelle Price, 17, told The Times. “I also want a bit of freedom.
“I want to go on holiday and go out and enjoy myself. I don’t want to be labelled a ‘spreader’.”
Fears over the variant come as pubs and restaurants can finally reopen in full today, with Brits now able to hug family and mix with pals indoors in groups of up to six.
But ministers said today they don’t agree with Bolton officials bypassing government guidelines on prioritising vaccines by age group.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “No. I think the Government has very clear guidelines in terms of the ordered way in which we roll out the vaccine and that’s been working.
“It’s been a very effective rollout and we would suggest people should do it in the correct order, in the right way.
“We’ve got very firm guidelines and we want people to follow those.
“I can see exactly what they’re trying to do, but there’s a really good way we’ve managed to roll out the vaccine and we’d urge people to follow the guidelines we’ve set out and the method we’ve used.”
He said it’s very likely” lockdown will end on June 21 because the vaccine works against the Indian variant.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed yesterday that there are 18 people in Bolton hospital with Covid, despite the “vast majority” being eligible.
But Mr Hancock says he has a “high degree of confidence” the jab works against the new variant, which could be up to 50 per cent more transmissible than the Kent strain.
Bolton currently has the highest rate of coronavirus infections in the country, with 657 new cases in the seven days to May 10
The majority of these new cases are the B16172 variant, which was first identified in India.
Boris Johnson has announced the army is set to be deployed in the town in a race to crack down on the strain.
Last week, Blackburn-with-Darwen was prevented from giving out extra vaccinations to all over-18s.
SURGE VACCINATION
Blackburn with Darwen Council had initially said all over-18s would be offered a jab.
But they were forced to backtrack, and later confirmed only people with underlying conditions could book a jab.
Yesterday, Dominic Harrison, the council’s director of public health, tweeted they had been given a ” ‘Green Light’ to rapidly increace vaccinations”.
Blackburn would receive an extra 1,000 Pfizer doses per day over the next fortnight for eligible residents over the age of 18.
Chief medical officer Chris Whitty the “majority view” of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is that the drawbacks of surge vaccination outweigh the benefits.
NHS Bolton said teenagers can be given the vaccine if they had health conditions or lived with someone vulnerable.
A spokesman added: “There are other things within that criteria, in terms of living in areas of high deprivation.”
