Jabs are route back to normality
TTHE good news about the success of the vaccine rollout is tempered by the death rate from Covid19 passing 100,000 including our National Treasure Captain Tom. This is a truly horrendous number and each one represents a family who are grieving, many of whom were sadly unable to be with their loved one when they passed away.
Under normal circumstances medical staff would encourage family to be there for their relatives, they understand how important that can be. But Covid presented real difficulties for NHS staff.
They did not want anyone else to catch the virus and they were so overwhelmed with the number of patients in Intensive Care they often did not have enough nursing staff to handle visitors. Despite this I know they are now asking family members to come in to be with their loved one at the end.
We all want life to go back to normal where we can take our family members into hospital, where we can visit them, where operations and appointments go ahead as planned.
The only way that can happen is when we have vaccinated large numbers of our population.
Thankfully the lockdown has seen a steady reduction in the number of positive Covid tests and we know from past experience this will eventually lead to a reduction in hospitalisations and deaths. But it is the vaccine which will bring us out of this nightmare once and for all.
Here in South Derbyshire we have two centres, one at Oaklands in Swadlincote which will serve those residents south of the river and the other at the Velodrome Arena in Pride Park for residents north of the river. In addition we are one of the first areas to get a Pharmacy vaccination centre which is being operated by Hatton Good Life Pharmacy in the Hatton Jubilee Community Hall.
Please wait until you are contacted about your jab and be assured you will not be forgotten. The next group are 75+ and, once they are through it will be the turn of the 70+ age group. Initially you will receive a letter inviting you to ring a number and you can book an appointment at one of the main vaccination hubs which includes the Arena and Hatton or, if you prefer, you can wait and you will get a message or a letter from your GP offering you an appointment locally.
However, if you are 80 or over or if you have a family member or friend who is and you/they have not been contacted about the vaccine you should contact the GP. It is very important that no one in the most vulnerable group is missed.
We have vaccinated more than 10 million and the Midlands is leading the way. I urge all of you to have the jab when you are offered it and encourage everyone you know to do the same. We all want the deaths to end and normal life to resume and vaccinations are the only way.