Covid infections are on the rise again in Staffordshire – and the increase is being driven by children as young as five.

Coronavirus case rates are highest in school-age youngsters, the latest report to Staffordshire County Council's cabinet has revealed, but improvements are being seen to the vaccination programme for 12-15 year-olds after it "started poorly".

The authority is also continuing its efforts to persuade adults who have yet to be vaccinated to take up the Covid jab.

Speaking at Wednesday's cabinet meeting (November 17) Dr Johnny McMahon, cabinet member for public health and integrated care, said: "This virus moves at such a fast-moving pace that at the time the cabinet papers were published we were in a downward trajectory, although it remained high.

"It is now the case that we're beginning to see numbers go back up again. This is largely being driven by the 5-10 year-olds, where it was previously 12-18 year-olds.

"Staffordshire as a whole remains higher than the West Midlands and UK average, so this virus has not gone away. We're gladdened that the elderly and more vulnerable cases remain stable. We also take comfort from the fact that hospital admissions into Staffordshire hospitals are likewise stable, but there is no room for complacency.

"It is unquestionable that the risk of death, serious disease, hospital admission and long Covid is markedly reduced with the Covid vaccine. We are gladdened by the fact we have heard from Pfizer and MSD that there's possible oral therapies in the early stages of disease.

"But all this good news cannot cloud our judgement that we have a covert enemy in our midst. The best thing we can do in order to protect ourselves, our loved ones, the community and the economy is to get the vaccine when it is due.

Cabinet members heard that 65% per cent of people in the area currently eligible for the booster jab had received it.

Councillor McMahon said: "This is better than it was but we still have another 35% of people to encourage to get it.

"The 12-15 year olds' programme started poorly but since the primary care networks have picked this up and parents can book through the national booking system it has picked up. But we still have some way to go.

"We as a county council are doing all we can to help the NHS deliver the vaccine. We are assured that they have the capacity and the vaccines. They just need the arms.

"In terms of all our personal responsibilities we owe it to ourselves, our loved ones and the community at large to have respect for this virus and the most vulnerable in our society. We need to enjoy our freedoms we took for granted until March 2020 but be mindful of this covert enemy.

"This is why our Covid defences as a county council will remain in place at least until March of next year and possibly longer. That involves the Test and Trace programme, managing outbreaks, supporting the most vulnerable and supporting the NHS in its vaccine endeavours"

Councillor Alan White said: "We have a cohort who are steadfastly refusing to take the vaccine for whatever reason. Can you give information about how you are tackling that dyed in the wool resistance or is it a case of we will go for those people who we know will take the booster and just accept the fact that some people will just not be wanting to take the vaccine?"

Councillor McMahon responded: "We are absolutely persisting with it. We are concentrating particularly on the 12 wards with the lowest vaccination uptake. Four of them are in the town of Burton, which won't surprise you; every district and borough has at least one.

"We are doing a house to house programme to encourage these people to take up the vaccine because it's crucially important. We are a long way away from having the numbers we would be comfortable with in order to keep this enemy at bay."

At a Corporate Overview and Scrutiny committee meeting on Tuesday (November 16) county councillors heard that as of Monday (November 15) 98.5% of care home staff in Staffordshire had received their first vaccine dose or were exempt, while 96.8% had had their second dose and 30.6% had received the booster.

Councillor Jeremy Pert, who chairs the Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee, said: "These figures are certainly well in excess of what we've seen when we've compared them with Birmingham and Wolverhampton and they are a credit to those people who have been working pro-actively with care homes to persuade their staff to be vaccinated."