A HEALTH boss has warned younger Teessiders need to take up Covid jabs as many are nearing their expiry date.

Figures show Stockton’s vaccine uptake is going well – with an 83.1 per cent uptake standing higher than both regional and North East averages.

However, Wednesday’s health and wellbeing board heard how a surplus of jabs at centres distributing vaccines was now building.

Fiona Adamson, from the Hartlepool and Stockton Health GP Federation, told the panel how they didn’t want any more vaccines coming their way.

She said: “The issue has come full circle and we cannot shift the vaccines that are going to expire. 

“That’s not for want of trying.

“We just cannot get the young people to come through the door no matter what we try – and we’re trying all sorts of things.”

Stockton has been included with the rest of the North East in the “enhanced response area” announced by the Government last week.

It is expected to boost vaccine uptake with “boots on the ground”, more walk-in jab centres, and a focus on younger men in particular.

Rates have now fallen from 1,192 cases per 100,000 people last week to 669.4 per 100,000 this week in Stockton borough.

Sarah Bowman-Abouna, director of public health, hoped the drop would continue but aired caution on the fall.

She added: “We haven’t seen the full impact of the July 19 roadmap change – we’re not sure how much impact that will have.

“There was a suspicion we saw the impact of that before the 19th with people already changing their behaviours which contributed to that spike but we don’t know yet whether there is going to be further impacts.”

The public health chief told the board they expected the fall in rates to be more gradual which had made teams “slightly suspicious”.

Members also heard how Covid transmission was being seen more in younger age groups with asymptomatic testing dropping off in recent weeks.

Ms Bowman-Abouna added: “When we’re looking at that sharp decrease we know it may well be people are testing less and we’re just not picking it up in the community – even though it’s still there.”

North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust was treating a total of 56 Covid positive patients as of Wednesday.

Trust official Barbara Bright said the numbers were increasing on a daily basis – but lengths of stay were shorter than seen in previous waves, and younger age groups now made up more of the group.

Trusts, doctors, and officials are now gearing up for the winter when a combination of demands are set to converge.

Ms Adamson revealed how GP teams were preparing up for “phase three” of booster covid vaccines and flu vaccines – adding it was expected to be a “hokey cokey” exercise of putting your left and right arm out for each of the jabs.

The federation official added: “That’s almost definite.

“We’re hoping to deliver that on behalf of PCNs (primary care networks) in Stockton, Hartlepool and Billingham as a joint effort as we’re really worried people won’t come twice.

“The worry is they’ll have their Covid but abandon the flu (jab) – and that could cause all sorts of problems in the winter.”