The vaccine gender gap: why aren’t young men getting vaccinated? - NationalWorld’s digital front page

With the lifting of restrictions fast approaching, the latest data shows a stark gap between young men and women coming forward for their coronavirus jabs

Analysis of the latest data from England, Scotland and Wales by NationalWorld found a gender gap has emerged in the rate of vaccinations.

The gap is most stark in England, but is present in every nation. Data on age and gender was not available for Northern Ireland.

The ONS runs a monthly survey on sentiment towards the Covid vaccines, asking people if they have been or plan to be vaccinated and, if not, the reasons why.

The latest report, which covers the period between 26 May and 20 June, showed no gap between men and women on vaccine sentiment, with only 4% of each showing hesitancy.

Among the 16 to 29 year age group, men were actually more positive with 8% showing hesitancy compared to 11% of women.

So why is this not borne out by real-world vaccine data?

NationalWorld’s Harriet Clugston spoke to Professor Martin Michaelis of the University of Kent, who offered his thoughts.

‘Unprecedented’ staycation traffic

Many of us have been tempted this year to opt for a summer holiday in the UK, for a much-needed break after a long 18 months.

There are plenty of reasons why a staycation is worth considering, not least with the complicated restrictions still in place and ever-changing on international travel.

But domestic travel might not be without its headaches, according to a warning from the RAC, which according to NationalWorld’s Matt Allan, is predicting a spike in congestion and breakdowns as holidaymakers head off on a predicted 29 million “staycations” this summer, including 16m during the school holidays.

With pupils in Scotland and Northern Ireland already on holiday and schools in England and Wales due to break up soon, the breakdown service is reporting a surge in staycation bookings, with the potential for a further jump if families are forced to cancel foreign trips.

The West Country, including Devon, Cornwall, Dorset and Somerset, is set to see the biggest jump in visitors, with 30 per cent of people quizzed by the RAC saying they intended to head to the region.

Scotland is also set to see a spike in UK-based tourists, with 14 per cent of holidaymakers planning a break north of Hadrian’s Wall. Yorkshire, the Lake District and East Anglia are also among the key destinations for staycationers this year.

British Grand Prix

One place where you shouldn’t expect to see much slow-moving traffic is on the track at Silverstone this weekend at the British Grand Prix.

This weekend will see a full capacity crowd embark on Silverstone for what promises to be a feast of F1 racing, including the British GP on Sunday 18 July.

After batting of criticism from Bernie Ecclestone, British F1 star Lewis Hamilton may well feel he has a point to prove on home turf, but Max Verstappen goes into the weekend as leader and favourite to win.

And as if the thrills and spills of an average Grand Prix aren’t quite enough excitement for you, this weekend will see Sprint qualifying introduced into Formula 1 for the first time.