Around 44 per cent of the UK population skipped Covid vaccination appointments, according to new research.
According to data in The Lancet, between June and September 2022, the percentage of people not "fully vaccinated" against Covid was 49.8 per cent in Northern Ireland, 5.7 per cent in England, 34 per cent in Scotland and 32.8 per cent in Wales.
Health records for everyone over five in the UK were analysed as part of the investigation.
The information is based on Covid vaccinations and tests, along with GPs and hospitals on the assumption one dose is recommended for five to 11-year-olds, two doses for 12 to 15-year-olds, three doses for 16 to 74-year-olds and four or more doses for over-75s and those vulnerable.
Around 44 per cent of the UK population are 'under-vaccinated'
PAData also revealed that the groups most likely to turn down the vaccine were younger people, men, those living in poorer areas and those from ethnic minority groups.
The scientists behind the latest study claim that if the population had received the full number of jabs recommended, 17 per cent of hospitalisations could have been avoided.
During summer 2022, there was arund 40,000 severe hospital admissions related to Covid.
The findings come despite other research having concluded that a third booster jab was "not appropriate" for most adults.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
An expert review of scientific evidence published in the Lancet in 2021 said: "Current evidence does not, therefore, appear to show a need for boosting in the general population, in which efficacy against severe disease remains high."
It added the the wide distribution of boosters is "not appropriate at this stage in the pandemic".
The contradictory new study claimed those over-75 and under-vaccinated, were more than twice as likely to be seriously ill with Covid than those who were fully protected.
Study co-lead and director of the Usher Institute at the University of Edinburgh, Prof Sir Aziz Sheikh, said the research showed Covid vaccines "save lives."
Research found that those over-75 and under-vaccinated, were more than twice as likely to be seriously ill with Covid than those who were fully protected
GETTYHe said: "As new variants emerge, this study will help to pinpoint groups of our society and areas of the country where public health campaigns should be focused and tailored for those communities."
Prof Cathie Sudlow, chief scientist at Health Data Research UK, a consortium of researchers who worked on the study, explained that collecting NHS data on this scale across the four nations of the UK had huge potential.
She added: "We believe that we could and should extend these approaches to many other areas of medicine, such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes, to search for better understanding, prevention and treatment of disease."
The next round of seasonal Covid jabs for those eligible will be available until 31 January 2024.
