As we approach the lifting of some restrictions, Wirral leads the vaccination way

More than half a million people have now been vaccinated against COVID-19 across the city region.

Figures released by the NHS show 524,621 people in the region's six boroughs had received at least one dose of the vaccine by the end of February.

This means more than a third of the city region has now been vaccinated against COVID-19, including 93% of pensioners.

The fact that so many of the most vulnerable have now received the vaccine should provide significant protection for local health services should cases start to rise again once lockdown restrictions are lifted.

But within the city region there is a considerable spread in vaccination rates.

Wirral is leading the way with 45% of its adult population being given the vaccine by the end of February – some 119,286 people.

St Helens, which hosts the region's largest vaccination centre at its rugby league stadium, has also seen considerable success in vaccinating its population.

Around 44% of its adults have now received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 96% of its over-65s – the highest rate in the region.

At the other end of the scale, Liverpool has only managed to vaccinate 36% of its adult population with 146,662 people having received at least one dose of the vaccine.

This could be due to the city's higher proportion of ethnic minority residents, who have been slightly more reluctant to get vaccinated.

The number of people who have been vaccinated in each borough is shown below, along with the percentage of over-16s this represents.

Wirral – 119,286 (45.2%)

Halton – 41,455 (40.1%)

Knowsley – 48,931 (40.7%)

Liverpool – 146,662 (35.7%)

St Helens – 66,160 (44.9%)

Sefton – 102,127 (44.8%)

Nationally, around 17m people had received at least one dose of the vaccine by the end of February, or 37.8% of the adult population.