On a brisk November morning in Luton Road, Chatham, it seemed like the resident anti-vaxxers were staying in bed.

According to government figures, Luton is one of three areas in Kent – along with Gravesend and parts of Canterbury – where 40% of the population has still not had even one coronavirus vaccine jab, with 59.3% having had a first dose and 51% having had two.

But it was the double-jabbed residents that were going about their business when KentOnline visited this week.

Were the unjabbed of Luton feeling a bit under the weather? If they were, 78-year-old Victor Durling had little sympathy for them.

"I've had both mine and I'm waiting for the booster," said the ex-army man. "I think most of them are idiots. There was a bloke on the bus the other day saying it was all a load of rubbish – he was shouting 'all the vaccine is a lot of rubbish and is a big con from the government'. I wanted to punch his lights out.

"There were kids on the bus and the language he was coming out with was terrible – and he was wrong about it.

"I think people should have it done," he added. "Who wants to die? Not me!"

Just along the road, 23-year-old Paul Howard also gave the anti-vaxxers short-shrift.

"You won't find them out and about," he said. "They don't care about society, so why would they function in it?

"Some people are lovely around here but others are a bit iffy. I can imagine some people don't feel like members of society."

But he said getting jabbed was the right thing to do, adding: "We're not going to get anywhere without it – it's not just about yourself, it's about people around you."

Elsewhere in several parts of Kent, more than 80% of people aged 12 and over have now had at least one dose of the Covid vaccine – so what makes things different in Luton?

Mark, 51, who lives in Luton Road, believed a higher percentage of people who had moved to the area from other countries were not getting the vaccine.

"They don't trust us and they don't mix with us," he said. "They should all get the jab. I had Covid and it was horrible.

"I was short of breath. It was the worst feeling.

"My message to anyone is please get it done."

Down the road in ABI Food & Wine, manager Raji Kumar said he had heard a number of people express anti-vaccination theories in the shop.

"People have some bad opinions of it," said Raji, 50. "They think that people will put some chip inside it. A lot of eastern European people here don't believe in the vaccine. They think coronavirus is fake.

"I've had two injections and all my family have," he added. "The vaccine is working. I've have 200-300 people a day in here and the first time around I had some feeling of symptoms, but since I've had the injection I don't feel ill – even a normal cold is not coming."

Customer Lorraine Butler, 59, from Henry Street, Luton, agreed, saying anti-vaxxers were not helping anyone.

"More fool them," she said. "If they want to go on holiday they won't be able to. They could be spreading it around as well. They probably don't think it's serious enough or they feel they're not going to get it.

"I say have it. I think they're worried about the side effects but I've had two injections and I had no side effects."

Back out on the street, everyone from 83-year-old Tony McGowan to 19-year-old Nia Kabbia agreed that people should get vaccinated.

"I think there are a lot of different people around here, but nearly everyone that I've been talking to wants the vaccine," said Tony. "The old people all want to have it. I suppose some people mustn't trust it."

Meanwhile Tracey Pocknall, 51, said it came down to a matter of fear for some people.

"I've had both jabs but my neighbour won't have it done because she's frightened of needles," she said. "I think some people are just frightened."

Over in Gravesend – where 59.9% have had one jab and 53.3% have had two – Cllr Brian Sangha (Lab) of Pelham Ward said smaller communities that lack group hubs were likely to have a higher percentage of unvaccinated people.

He added: "We became aware that the take-up from all minority groups at the initial roll-out was not what we would have liked it to be. We did a lot of work on the ground."

To do this, Cllr Sangha and others went around the town centre to approach people in the street to give advice or direct them to information on the vaccine.

In the early days of the vaccination programme he said some people were reluctant, as they didn't know what the vaccines contained, while some religious groups were hesitant as people thought it could contain animal products.

And while he said the council quickly worked with communities to dispel myths, stories of side effects and misinformation on social media meant some negative perceptions of the vaccine remained.

Speaking specifically about Gravesend's eastern European communities, Cllr Sangha said a number of people "seem to have a reluctance" of taking up the vaccine.

He said it was harder to engage with some communities due to a lack of established community centres and the fact some residents were only living in the area temporarily.

He continued: "They do not have the same facilities to communicate with them. It is quite challenging.

"You can advise them but they will make their own decisions. It is very difficult to tell them – you can only say you should think about it.

"The more loosely associated the community is, the more difficult and challenging it is for us to communicate with them.

"I urge people to seek help, support and information about taking up the vaccine and encourage them to consider taking it."

'People are still believing the conspiracy theories and some people had some side effects...'

Dr Manpinder Sahota, of Pelham Road Medical Centre, Gravesend, agreed that an element of misinformation remained in the town.

"People are still believing the conspiracy theories and some people had some side effects," he said. "There is also a lack of trust.

"It is a combination of that. They still do not trust it."

He added that hearing stories of side effects, reactions and negative press coverage also have a part to play in people's reluctance.

He added: "There are side effects with any vaccine, some are going to experience it."

It is still possible to book a jab at the county's sole remaining large-scale vaccination centre at the Pentagon Centre in Chatham.

To book, click here or call 119.

There are also a number of walk-in clinics. For more, click here.

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Read more: All the latest news from Gravesend