The average age of coronavirus patients in intensive care wards has reduced further, with people in their 50s now accounting for a quarter of all cases, according to figures from intensive care monitoring group Nice.

In March and April, people in their 70s dominated IC admissions.

The drop shows the impact of vaccinations, IC chief Diederik Gommers told the AD. ‘The patients who are being admitted to hospital and IC wards in May have not been vaccinated’ he said.

Nice foundation chief Dave Dongelmans told the AD that the change in the age profile may encourage people who have had their doubts about being vaccinated to go for the jab. ‘You will never convince the sceptics, but the doubters will be sensitive to the fact that the vaccine works in practice,’ he said.

The over-80s, who accounted for 27% of cases at the start of this year, now account for 9% of patients. The under 40s account for just under 10%.

People in their 50s are now eligible for vaccination. In total, 8.5 million doses have now been given, according to the government’s coronavirus dashboard. Hospital admissions have been going down steadily since April.