Separate analysis by The Telegraph shows that cases have now peaked for the under-20s and have started to fall. The rolling daily average hit 134.4 cases per 100,000 on October 19, and has since dropped 2.5 per cent to 131.1 per 100.000.

Children aged between 10 and 14 have seen the biggest decrease in the same period, with a fall of nearly three per cent.

Meaghan Kall, an epidemiologist at the UK Health Security Agency, cautioned that the October half term could be driving some of the decline, but said that the high numbers infected may suggest the children’s epidemic is waning.

“I am prepared to bet that England has seen the peak of cases in children,” she wrote on social media.

Older people ‘greatest priority’ for vaccine

The high protection rates in children and young people has led experts to call on the Government to prioritise older groups for booster vaccination, rather than children and young people. 

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Wednesday showed that although 99 per cent of the 70 to 79-year-olds are fully vaccinated, only 86 per cent still have antibodies, demonstrating a worrying waning of immunity over time. Similar falls are seen in those aged 60 to 69, as well as the over-80s. 

Many of the people in the sample who tested negative for antibodies in the most recent week had received their vaccinations in the early stages of the rollout, the ONS said.

In contrast, 92 per cent of 16 to 24-year-olds have antibodies, even though just 81 per cent have been double jabbed.

Duncan Cook, head of analysis for the Covid-19 Infection Survey said: “Antibody positivity remains high across the UK population. It is increasing in younger adults, though we have seen a small decline, since June, in older age groups.”