New analysis has revealed the people most likely to be unvaccinated against Covid-19.
People who work as fitness instructors, painters, fork-lift truck drivers and actors are among those most likely to not have had the jab, the research suggests.
In the 40 to 64 age group, an estimated 16.6 per cent of fitness instructors in England had not received any vaccine, along with 16.2 per cent of painters and decorators, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Other jobs with similarly high levels of non-vaccination among the same age group include plasterers (14.8 per cent), fork-lift truck drivers (14.4 per cent) and people employed as actors, entertainers and presenters (14.2 per cent).
All estimates are based on vaccinations delivered up to December 31 and cover only adults aged 40 to 64.
The sector classed as “elementary trades and related occupations” – such as packers, bottlers, industrial cleaning or farm and forestry workers – has the highest overall rate of unvaccinated people 15 per cent, the data suggests.
The next highest rate is for “skilled construction and building trades”, at 12.9 per cent.
Other jobs where at least one in 10 people are likely to be unvaccinated include bus and coach drivers, waiters and waitresses, van drivers, bar staff and sports players.
By contrast, some of the lowest estimates are for police officers (3.8 per cent unvaccinated), occupational therapists (4.1 per cent), solicitors (4.5 per cent) and school secretaries (5 per cent).
The category of job with the lowest unvaccinated rate is “protective service occupations”, at 5.3 per cent, which includes people working for the police, fire and prison services.
The overall estimate for the proportion of people in England aged 18 and over who have not been vaccinated is 11.6 per cent.
The ONS has also published updated estimates for vaccine take-up among the whole adult population in England up to December 31, based on factors such as deprivation and ethnicity.
People from black Caribbean and black African backgrounds are estimated to have the highest rates of non-vaccination, at 40.9 per cent and 27 per cent respectively, while the rate for people identifying as white British is 9.1 per cent.
The proportion of adults in the most deprived areas of England who have not received a vaccination is estimated at 17 per cent, compared with 7.3 per cent for those in the least deprived areas.
Some 19.3 per cent of adults identifying as Muslim are likely to have not been vaccinated, ahead of Jewish (12.9 per cent), Christian (10.6 per cent) and Hindu (8.3 per cent).
Recent data published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows that people who have not been vaccinated are up to eight times more likely to be admitted to hospital with Covid-19.
The NHS has delivered more than 52 million first doses, more than 48 million second doses and more than 36 million booster jabs in total.
