Play your part and protect all of us

OVER HALF OF UK ADULTS HAVE HAD THE JAB THANKS TO THE DEDICATION OF NHS WORKERS – NOW PEOPLE OVER 50 AND THOSE WHO ARE CLINICALLY VULNERABLE CAN MAKE THEIR APPOINTMENTS

Millions of people in the UK have now received their first dose of the Covid vaccine. The impressive speed of the rollout means the NHS is on target to vaccinate all priority groups, including people classed as clinically vulnerable and those over 50, by mid-April. Anyone aged 50 or over and carers who haven’t had an appointment yet can call 119 or visit nhs.uk/covidvaccine to book. We asked a team of experts to answer some common questions about the life-saving jab.

Dr Farzana Hussain, a GP, clinical director of Newham Central 1 Primary Care Network and co-chair of the National PCN Network at the NHS Confederation, urges her patients to get the vaccine

Q AQ AWhich long-term health conditions is the vaccine safe for? For people with long-term health conditions, it’s even Will people need a Covid and matched for the more important that they injection every year as second dose? protect themselves with the future variants come along? A vaccine. It has been tested on We don’t yet know the We’re not doing this at the a whole variety of participants, answer to this. It might be moment because the trials including those with long-term like the flu injection, where every were done using the same health conditions. We don’t year people catch a new variant, vaccine for both doses. People know of any health conditions so we’ll have to produce a who’ve had their first dose will that the vaccine wouldn’t be vaccine that will definitely have the same vaccine for their safe for. target that particular strain. second dose. We are midway

through a trial to see if the

Q Q

If you’re young Has the vaccines could be ‘mixed and and fit and vaccine been matched’ in the future. wouldn’t get tested on black

Q a flu jab, why or minority ethnic How long does the jab should you communities? Do immunise you for?

A have the Covid we know it’s safe Public Health England is vaccine? for everyone? monitoring how effective the A A

Covid is not Each of the vaccine is at protecting against like flu. If you’re vaccines a range of outcomes. So we are younger you are less is tested on tens of waiting until we have sufficient likely to die, but various factors thousands of people across data to provide a clear picture including ethnicity can put you the world – men and women, of how long the protective more at risk. Also, we want to people from different ethnic effect of vaccination lasts. protect all of us. Otherwise backgrounds, representative of

Q we’re not going to get that all ages between 18-84. All If anybody has concerns immunity we want for our religious groups endorse the about the vaccine, where society. You’re putting other vaccine. And the MHRA has can they get more information?

A people at risk – think about confirmed that it contains no From a GP, practice nurse, your grandparents, the elderly. animal products. community pharmacist or The sooner we get that high-street chemist. They are

Q immunity, the sooner we’ll get Can the Pfizer also vaccinated. There’s also back to doing the things we love and AstraZeneca nhs.uk/covidvaccine. It’s good and seeing the people we love. vaccines be mixed for people to come forward.