The best possible present this year

Newcastle’s director of public health, Prof EUGENE MILNE, has this message for the people of the North East

WITH only 11 days to go, the best possible Christmas present to yourself, your family, friends, colleagues, community, or the city as a whole, is to be fully vaccinated against Covid.

If you are already eligible, I urge you to get a booster.

And if you have not yet embarked upon vaccination or have only had a first dose please come forward to start or continue that course.

These vaccines work. We have seen them break the link between infection and severe illness or death in thousands of people through earlier waves of the pandemic.

Both Pfizer and Moderna boosters are excellent, irrespective of the type in your first two doses (if it helps, I received two Astra-Zeneca doses and a Moderna booster).

As the Omicron variant spreads, our best defence will be to maximise immunity in as many people as possible, and particularly in those who are most vulnerable. Even then, the full effects will take some weeks to develop, so we need to increase other efforts to prevent spread.

Omicron is the most infective variant we have seen, but it can still be held back by masks, social distancing, good hygiene, and ventilation. Limiting mixing in the run-up to Christmas also matters.

I do understand how upsetting it is to have a second Christmas compromised by this virus. So be cautious – don’t go near people if you have symptoms.

Use tests to make sure you are not spreading Covid yourself. Assume that any social encounter could result in spread, so protect and prevent accordingly.

Omicron could yet turn out to be milder for most people.

But we know for certain that some cases will be severe – as I write the first Omicron death in this country has been announced – and even a small risk can overwhelm services if numbers are sufficiently large.

We always knew a variant could set us back. But if we act now and together, we can limit that risk, save lives and protect the NHS – which, at some point, we will all need. I wish you a happy, safe, vaccinated and boosted Christmas.