‘WE REALLY NEED UNSUNG HEROES’
Maidenhead: Baroness urges BAME groups to get jab
Porters, cleaners and drivers are among “unsung heroes” according to someone at the sharp end of the vaccine rollout. “They deliver everything to us and help with the logistics of the operation. They’ve done a massive job and we really need them,” confirmed Public Health Agency Northern Ireland Director of Nursing Deirdre Webb.
“Then we have a huge volunteer workforce helping people get to clinics. They are all the unsung heroes of this,” added the Belfast 57 year-old.
“We hope to see promising results in the springtime. We have small teams helping to deliver the vaccine in patient’s homes.
“Then vaccinations are also being given at GP surgeries and mass vaccination centres.”
“Everyone has been so enthusiastic and very keen to help out,” continued Deirdre, herself set to be trained as a vaccinator. I’ve been in nursing for 40 years and this has been the biggest vaccination programme I’ve ever been involved with.’’
By Kieran Bell kieranb@baylismedia.co.uk @KieranB_BM
A former Royal Borough councillor and the first Asian woman to receive a peerage has called on people from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
Baroness Shreela Flather, 87, from Maidenhead, says it is ‘distressing’ to learn that some people from BAME groups may be declining the jab.
Studies by the University of Oxford and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine have found a lower proportion of people over the age of 80 from black and South Asian backgrounds have been vaccinated compared to white people.
Misinformation and rumours have been spreading online including fears that the vaccine is against faiths,
or may include animal products.
The council’s lead member for health, Cllr Stuart Carroll (Con, Boyn Hill), called this misinformation ‘vicious and sinister’, adding it needs to be ‘stamped out’ by social media providers.
And Baroness Flather has urged people from BAME backgrounds to ‘think again’ if they have refused the vaccine for ‘whatever reason’.
“I had my first jab, and it was less of a problem than my flu jab I have every year. It took no time at all,” she said. “This is the only opportunity we have to stop this [virus] spreading, and I think we should be very glad that we are getting it [the vaccine]. It is your best chance of avoiding coronavirus. You should take it because you are very lucky to be offered it. It’s unbelievable that people are refusing something that is going to protect them from this disease.”
Cllr Carroll said that there is ‘nothing wrong’ with people having concerns and questions about the vaccine, but added it was ‘vitally important’ that all those eligible receive it.
“A situation where anyone is declining the vaccine is of profound concern,” he said.
“With this particular community, it is a concern that there seems to be a higher rate of decline versus other communities.
“The important thing here is to work hard to understand the reasons as to why people are potentially declining the vaccine.”
LITTLE MARLOW: A controversial film set in the village could be set to stay for longer, with plans in motion to extend permissions to use the site for film-making purposes.
Spade Oak Quarry, in Little Marlow Road, has been the subject of national headlines in recent weeks with a large film set attracting attention.
Filming is widely reported to be for a Star Wars spin-off TV series, but it has divided nearby residents who have complained of noise and potential traffic problems.
Applicants have gone to Buckinghamshire Council’s planning team to ask for an extension to the permissions at the quarry, which could see filming continued there until the autumn.
The proposals are for temporary permission to continue the use of the site for film-making purposes between May 1 and November 1.
An existing planning consent is set to come to an end in April, prompting film-makers to apply for the extension.
Bucks Council says that it cannot give a date on when a decision is likely to be made on the latest application.
A spokeswoman said: “When originally submitted, the planning application sought permission for the use of the site for film-making purposes for a period of three years.
“It was then amended to seek planning permission for a period of six months following the expiration of the ninemonth period allowed under ‘permitted development’ rights, because of the risks of COVID [and] winter weather delays. The permitted development period ends on April 30.
“Our planners are working through cases as quickly as they can, but at the moment they can’t give a timescale for when this application will go to the planning committee.”