What's happening in West Lancs?

• The downward trend continues in West Lancs this week.  Covid rates are still high but our overall rate is lower than the UK average.

• A total of 312 people tested positive over the last 7 days in West Lancs - a drop of 14% from the previous week.

• The number of people admitted to hospital in West Lancs due to Covid decreased for the first time for a couple of weeks - by 18%.

• See the situation in your postcode here.

New 'Living with Covid' plan

This week marks a major milestone in the pandemic with all remaining legal Covid restrictions being removed in England - nearly two years after the first rules were introduced.

To many, it may feel like 'too much too soon', and there's no doubt it's a difficult situation for clinically vulnerable people.  

However, there are some positive reasons for optimism - outlined in this broadly reassuring BBC report: www.bbc.co.uk/news/hea...

The main changes are outlined in the governement's Living with Covid plan and include:

From 24th February:

• People with Covid are not legally required to self-isolate (however, the guidance still recommends that those testing positive stay at home and avoid contact with others for at least five full days)

• Self-isolation support payments of £500 for those on low incomes have stopped

• Routine contact tracing has ended - people in contact with someone with Covid will no longer be advised to self-isolate or take daily tests – even if unvaccinated.

• Workers are not required to tell their employer if they need to self-isolate

• Face coverings are not mandatory but they are still 'strongly encouraged'
  

From 1st April:

• PCR and lateral flow Covid tests will no longer be free for most people

• Covid passports will no longer be recommended, except for international travel

• Employers will no longer have to consider Covid as a separate risk when working out how to keep employees safe
  

Take part in antiviral trial

If you have tested positive for Covid in the last 5 days, you could be eligible to take part in a study to help learn more about new antiviral treatments. 

The aim of the Panoramic trial is to find new treatments that help those suffering with Covid at home get better quicker and without needing to be treated in hospital.

Sign up : http://panoramictrial.org

Population antibodies are high

This week's antibody data from ONS is encouraging - showing sustained high levels of antibodies in older age groups, even after 4 months after booster jabs.

• Interestingly, antibody levels have not shown the same drop as after the second dose in the over 50s, showing the effectiveness of a booster jab.

• Overall antibody levels are broadly consistent across the UK at 98% - due to a combination of vaccine and naturally acquired immunity. 

• For younger children, immunity will be almost exclusively naturally acquired, and this has risen rapidly because of the Omicron wave.

• Remarkably the data shows that half of all English primary-aged children produced antibodies to Covid in the last 4 months. (Most will have not shown symptoms but produced antibodies as a response to the virus exposure)

COVID Oximetry @home

Pulse oximeters are being provided to patients as part of the NHS response to Covid. This service supports people at home who have tested positive and are most at risk of becoming seriously unwell.

At CVS, we are proud to have supported the local Oximeter delivery service since its establishment and continue to co-ordinate the volunteer delivery drivers through our Community Champions scheme.

If you currently have Covid and you’re 65 or over, or clinically extremely vulnerable or pregnant, contact your GP about getting a free pulse oximeter to help monitor your oxygen levels and put your mind at ease.

Learn more about them here.

Give thanks

• Would you like to thank someone who has helped you or your family and loved ones during the pandemic?

• Is there someone that has cared for you or a family member?

• Or a volunteer at a vaccination centre that really stood out?

Join the Healthier LSC campaign to thank everyone working and volunteering in health and care.

Share your story by emailing healthierlsc.media@nhs.net

Local hospital visiting - help keep patients safe

Families and friends are being asked to carry on keeping patients safe by limiting their visits to hospital.

Visiting was banned in spring 2020 but later reintroduced in certain circumstances at many hospitals. Although many of the pandemic restrictions are now being lifted, curbs on hospital visiting remain in place.

Dr Kate Clark, Medical Director at Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust, said:

“Many of our patients are frail and vulnerable, and we must continue taking precautions to keep them safe while the potential for Covid infection remains.

Appointments can be made to visit some patients who need direct support from family and friends - usually limited to one person per patient, or two people where the patient is at the end of their life.

Separate arrangements are in place for visits to Ormskirk maternity and children's wards and Spinal Injuries Centre at Southport hospital. 

Dr Clark added: “We continue to see deaths of patients with Covid. The threat from this deadly disease has not gone away. We must learn to live with Covid and still protect those at risk.”

Find more information about local hospital visiting here 

People aged 75 or over and people with a weakened immune system will be offered an extra Covid booster jab this spring, six months after their previous dose.

The JCVI has advised a spring booster (second booster dose) for

• everyone aged 75 and over
• residents in care homes for older adults
• immunosuppressed people aged 12 and over

There's around 7.2 million people in the UK aged over 75, who having already had their primary course of Covid vaccines, will be eligible for the extra spring booster.

Another half a million people who are immunosuppressed, with diseases such as blood cancer or who've had an organ transplant or are receiving chemotherapy, will also benefit from the additional booster.

Find out more here: www.gov.uk/government/...

Getting vaccinated is still important - and will continue to offer essential protection from Covid going forward.

The chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance warned this week that Covid will continue to evolve over the next few years. 

He said that further variants of Covid were expected - and that they could be more severe than those previously seen.

Everyone over 12 can get a 1^st and 2^nd dose and everyone over 16 can also get a booster. Check all eligibility here

1. Book an appointment online

You can make an appointment by

• Booking online here
• Calling freephone 119

2. Find your nearest drop-in clinic

Permanent clinic sites:   Anyone aged 16 and over can get vaccinated at a drop-in clinic - without a pre-booked appointment.

Find nearest vaccine drop-in clinics on the NHS website. 

Additional drop-in clinics:  This weekend's local drop-in clinics are listed below and any additions will be listed on West Lancs CCG’s webpage each week:  www.westlancashireccg.nhs.uk/popupclinics/

3. Request a home visit

Under a new initiative by the NHS in Lancashire and South Cumbria, anyone who is shielding or doesn’t feel comfortable using the existing vaccine services can now book to be vaccinated at home.

Find out more information and how to book online, here.

You can either:

• Collect FREE tests from a symptom free local collection site to use at home later. Find your nearest collection point here.  Or

• Order FREE home testing kits online to be delivered to your home, here.

Please note:  Due to government changes this week to self-isolation rules, the Test & Trace Support Payment has now finished.

See full information here:  

www.westlancs.gov.uk/more/emergencies/coronavirus/test-and-trace-support-payment.aspx

Donate

The Food banks in Skelmersdale and Burscough are running short of some items:

• Carrier bags
• Tinned meat
• Tinned tomatoes
• Pot noodles
• Milk
• Cordial / Fruit juice
• Tea, Coffee & Sugar
• Savoury rice
• Tinned vegetables - mixed veg / carrots / peas / sweetcorn / potatoes
• Tinned fruit 
• Rice pudding / Sponge puddings / Custard
• Soup
• Pasta sauce
• Crisps
• Biscuits

Skelmersdale - please drop them off at the Ecumenical Centre on Monday and Thursday mornings 9am-12. See more information on their Facebook page here

Burscough - See more information on their Facebook page here.

Local Skelmersdale group Friends of Tawd Valley are looking for volunteers for their work day on March 5th 10am-1pm, when they'll be installing new picnic tables in the gathering place next to the orchard.

Celebrate Skelmersdale reported this week that since last October, volunteers with Friends of the Tawd Valley have clocked up over 1400 hours so far!  

Join them on the 5th to help keep the good work!

Full details here.

Can you help us get the word out?

We are working with West Lancashire Borough Council to get accurate information into the heart of communities and would be grateful if you could pass this on to your networks.

Please join in these efforts by cascading these messages on to your work colleagues, friends and families using the share buttons below: