Preston’s coronavirus infection rate has continued to fall as the director of public health for Lancashire said the vaccine rollout in the county was set to slow down.

New coronavirus cases for Wednesday (24 March) showed just five new cases recorded in Preston.

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South Ribble saw 17 for the same day.

Wyre was up by five cases, Fylde also by five, Ribble Valley saw no new cases and Chorley rose by 16 cases.

Preston’s infection rate is now 88.7 cases per 100,000 people for the seven days to March 20, down from 132 cases per 100,000 people for the seven days to March 13.

Data for the most recent four days (March 21-24) has been excluded as it is incomplete and does not reflect the true number of cases.

See the latest coronavirus cases and information near you

South Ribble’s rate is 87.6, down from 115.5 for the same two date periods as Preston.

Wyre saw a rise to 50.9, up from 40.1 and Fylde’s rate also rose to 65.6, up from 56.9.

Ribble Valley’s rate dropped slightly to 83.8, down from 85.4.

Chorley’s rate is now 56.7, down from 79.5.

Read more: Area by area coronavirus cases for Preston and South Ribble up until March 18

Lancashire first doses to be delayed

Director of public health for Lancashire County Council Dr Sakthi Karunanithi has confirmed there will be a pause for some of the county’s population to receive a first vaccine dose.

Dr Karunanithi confirmed to LancsLive that people aged 50 and under’s jabs are due to be put on hold because of a looming vaccine shortage.

Dr Karunanithi told LancsLive: “The supply issues that we currently face mean that the first dose of vaccine for those that are about 50 will be paused from April so that people who are due for their second dose are prioritised.

“Between now and the end of this month there are still slots available for those who are around 50.”

See the latest coronavirus vaccine stats and information near you

Vaccne hesitancy could lead to extra deaths

Coronavirus vaccine hesitancy could lead to thousands of extra deaths over a two-year period, new research has suggested.

Experts say high numbers of people refusing to take the jab could increase the mortality rate by up to eight times compared with ideal vaccination uptake when restrictions are relaxed.

Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite availability, and has the potential to threaten the successful rollout of Covid-19 vaccines globally, according to a new report.

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The latest report by the Imperial College London Covid-19 response team evaluates the potential impact of vaccine hesitancy on the control of the pandemic and the relaxation of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs).

The analysis combines an epidemiological model of coronavirus transmission with data on vaccine hesitancy from population surveys.

The team estimates that vaccine hesitancy would lead to an extra 236 deaths per million population over a two-year period for a vaccine with high efficacy.

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