Many clinically vulnerable Manx residents aren’t getting their Covid booster jabs.

Just under 30% of the residents in the island that are aged 70 to 74 or ‘extremely clinically vulnerable’ have not taken the vaccine booster.

These statistics come from latest government figures published in the weekly surveillance of seasonal respiratory illnesses report and are accurate up to January 18, with the next figures update available tomorrow, Friday, January 27.

A total of 36.1% of people aged between 16 and 64 with underlying health conditions have had their shots and are up to date.

Only 28.6% of care home staff have had the booster vaccine and front-line healthcare worker uptake is at 36.3%.

Whereas, a total of 99% of care home residents in the island have had their booster vaccines, this was the group with the highest uptake of all.

The report also shows that in the last 10 weeks, there were 36 cases of Coronavirus confirmed in total via figures of swab test results.

These results also found that there were 130 cases of flu A & B and 33 cases of Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) over the same timespan. This is a common respiratory virus that for most people causes mild, cold-like symptoms.

The age ranges for the general population of the Isle of Man show a pattern of steady decline in the uptake of the autumn vaccine booster.

The best uptake rate for any age group in the island is the 91% in residents over 80 who have had their autumn jabs.

Just over a third (33.7%) of people aged from 50 to 54 have taken the vaccine booster, this is the lowest booster rate of any eligible age group.

A majority (60%) of those aged over 50 have been fully vaccinated, compared to 64.5% of those over 50 years old in England.

Almost 70% (68.5%) of those who are living with Immunocompromised, are pregnant or are carers have taken the Covid booster.

People who are immunocompromised, or immunosuppressed, have a reduced ability to fight infections and other diseases, this can be due to some diseases such as cancer, diabetes, manutrition or certain genetic disorders.

It can also be caused by certain types of treatments of medicines, such as, anticancer drugs, radiation therapy and stem cell or organ transplant.

Children who are living with an immunocompromised adult have also had a high uptake in the vaccine, with 90.9% of those aged five to 11 having take up the vaccine and 77.1% of those aged 12 to 17 living with an immunocompromised adult.

Vaccination rates are also high in vulnerable children, with 70.7% children aged 12 to 15 with severe neuro disabilities being the lowest rate of booster uptake.

Almost all (94.1%) of children aged five to 11 at risk children have been vaccinated.

The data also shows stats on seasonal flu, which shows that the Isle of Man was less impacted by the flu in comparison to England in all age groups that could be compared.