An estimated 75,000 nurses in the UK haven’t received a first Covid jab

Thousands of nurses in the UK are yet to receive a first dose of a Covid vaccine, with less than a week to go until the Government’s deadline to vaccinate all 15 million people in the top four vaccine priority groups.

Findings from a Royal College of Nursing (RCN) survey show that around 15 per cent of nurses are yet to be offered a first dose, while the remaining 85 per cent have had at least one dose.

These findings, based on a survey of more than 24,000 nurses, have sparked concerns that a significant number of healthcare professionals are still vulnerable to the disease and could still contract and spread it easily.

NHS nurses have highest vaccination rate

The vaccination rate is higher among nurses directly employed by the NHS, at 91 per cent, while only 71 per cent of those working for care homes or as health visitors for other firms report receiving a vaccine.

Nurses who work through an employment agency were least likely to have been offered a jab, with 35 per cent of people in this situation still not having been invited to receive one.

The RCN said that if the survey's findings are true of their full membership, then around 75,000 nurses have still not had their first jab.