LESS than 10 per cent of York children aged 12-15 have had the Covid jab so far, it has emerged.

City of York Council's latest Covid data tracker report says that as of Wednesday, only 710 children aged 12-15 in the city had had the first dose of the Covid vaccine.It said this represented 8.5 per cent of the estimated 12-15 population of York.

The report also revealed that the Covid infection rate in York was now more than ten times higher for youngsters aged 10 to 14 than it was for people aged over 60.

It said the rate of new Covid cases per 100,000 population for the period October 3-9 for people aged 60+ in York was 92.2, with 46 cases confirmed.

The rate for 10-14 year olds was 1,044 per 100,000, while the rate for children aged 5-9 was 634.

It added that in the seven days up to Ocober11, there were 217 children of primary or secondary school age who tested positive for Covid across 36 schools.

The report also said three care homes in the council area had had a confirmed Covid-19 infection, 23 people at the University of York were self-isolating after a positive Covid-19 test, while six at York St John University were isolating.

The report added that as of October 12, there were 49 confirmed Covid-19 patients in General/Acute beds at York Hospital, with three in intensive care.