More than a third of adults in their 30s in Ipswich have yet to get a Covid jab, new figures have revealed.

It comes as around 27,422 people remain unvaccinated in the town, around 22.7pc of all adults in the area, based on figures from the National Immunisation Management Service.

Up to September 13, 93,129 people aged 18 and over in Ipswich had received a first dose of the vaccine says the NHS.

This means 91% of adults have had one dose and 84% have had both doses in Suffolk and north east Essex.

Those aged 30-39 have the highest refusal rates in the area, with 35.5% yet to get a jab, followed by the 18-29 age bracket (34.7%) according to the NHS figures.

The government's chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said getting vaccination levels up was the key to keeping case numbers down and maintaining lighter controls.

He said: “There are five million or so people who are eligible for vaccines now who haven’t been vaccinated.

“Trying to persuade those people it is the right thing to do to get vaccinated would make a significant difference.

“The immunity is really important to keep this down and allows lighter measures to be put in place to keep it under control.”

A higher proportion of children aged 16 and 17 are unvaccinated (49.3%), but they were offered the jab much later than others.

At the other end of the scale, just 4% of those aged 80-89 have not received their first vaccine.

Earlier this month, Ipswich Town's first team squad including keeper Christian Walton, winger Sone Aluko and Joe Piggott, were among the players to take up their vaccine.

It comes as booster shots will be offered from September 20 to maintain protection levels as the country enters the autumn.

It will be available for people aged 50 and over, care home residents, health and social care workers, 16 to 49 year-olds with underlying health conditions, adult carers, and adult household contacts of immunosuppressed individuals.

Around 10.8% of the UK population aged 16 and above have not taken up the offer of a Covid-19 vaccine.

A full list of walk-in clinics across Suffolk and the Colchester and Tendring areas of Essex is available by visiting https://sneevaccine.org.uk/location-of-walk-in-clinics/