Fifth of under 40s in Swansea Bay remain unvaccinated say health board

A fifth of adults under 40 in Swansea and Neath Port Talbot have still not had their first dose of a Covid vaccine.

Director of Public Health, Dr Keith Reid, has branded the figure “concerning”.

He is urging all eligible adults who remain unvaccinated to get their first dose as soon as possible. Drop-in sessions are ongoing and appointments are available.

Out of 78,000 eligible adults under 40 in the Swansea Bay University Health Board area, around 16,000 or 20% remain unvaccinated.

Dr Reid said: “The summer holidays give us all the much needed opportunity to catch up with family and friends and visit those places we have missed.

“Unfortunately, the coronavirus will also be getting out and about, exploiting any opportunity to spread.

“We must remember that we are still in the middle of the third wave and the Delta variant, which is the dominant strain in Wales, is much easier to catch than the Alpha or Kent variant.”

Dr Reid added that no vaccines offer 100% protection. But after two doses the current vaccines offer very good protection against Covid overall. And they are highly effective (96% for Pfizer and 92% for Oxford-AstraZeneca) at preventing hospitalisation from the Delta variant.

He said: “We know some young people are reluctant to have the vaccine due to myths circulating on social media. These state the vaccines cause infertility in women or impotence in men.

“Some people who are young and healthy believe they’re better off letting their immune system fight off the virus naturally. None of these things are true and it’s dangerous to believe them.

“Indeed it is natural Covid infection and long Covid which are associated with erectile dysfunction in men. There have been no reports of impotence linked to vaccination and vaccination is recommended as a protection against this side-effect of Covid infection.”

Drop-in vaccination sessions are being held for those aged 17 years and 9 months to 39 years old at the Bay Field Hospital on Saturday’s and Sundays (July 30 to August 15), and at Margam Orangery on Thursday 12 August, Friday 13 August and Saturday 14 August.