Find out what's happening in your area

The number of covid cases in West Lancashire this week has increased by over 25% but is still below the levels seen in early to mid July.

• Find out how today's rate compares to 3 or 6 months ago, here
  

• See how your postcode compares to the Borough figures here.

• The number of people admitted to hospital due to covid in West Lancs has decreased by 47% this week.  See how this has changed over the year here.

Vaccine boosters

The roll out of COVID-19 booster vaccinations has started this week across the North West.

• Anyone who has had their second vaccine at least six months ago is eligible.
• The order of priority is similar to the first vaccine programme eg care home residents, health staff, followed by over 80’s and so on.
• Texts to arrange a top-up vaccine have started going out and letters are also being sent.
• The NHS will let you know when it's your turn. 
• It’s important not to contact the NHS for one before then. 

Flu vaccination

The NHS is heading towards a highly unpredictable winter.

Flu levels were very low last year due to restrictions and lack of social mixing and therefore we have lower levels of immunity.

This is the first year that flu will co-circulate alongside covid-19, and vaccinating against flu is therefore more important than ever

It is possible to get flu and Covid-19 at the same time and you are more likely to be seriously ill if this happens

The flu vaccine is being offered to a wider range of people this year. See the full list here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/hea...

Travel changes

For international travel, the current traffic light system will be replaced by a single red list of countries on 4th October 2021.

• From the end of October, fully vaccinated passengers will be able to replace their day 2 test with a cheaper lateral flow test, reducing the cost of tests on arrival into England.
• Anyone testing positive will need to isolate and take a confirmatory PCR test, at no additional cost to the traveller, to help identify new variants.

The USA has announced that from November, fully vaccinated UK travellers do not need to quarantine on arrival.

Find out more here.

How to get your vaccination in West Lancs

Everyone aged 12 and over can now get a covid vaccination.

• if you are over 18, you can book online here  or phone for free on 119

• if you are 16 or 17, you can book a jab with your GP or find a walk-in vaccination site here

• If you are aged 12-15, your school will offer the vaccination to you

If you don't have symptoms

Anyone in West Lancashire is now eligible to have free, rapid covid tests for themselves and their families to use twice a week.

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:  https://www.gov.uk/order-coron...

If you have symptoms

• you will need to self-isolate and get a test here.

• If you have a positive test, you can apply for financial support here.

Self-isolation rules

You need to self-isolate if: 

• you've had a positive PCR test (even if vaccinated) 

• you are 18+, not double-jabbed & been in contact with someone positive

You don't need to self-isolate if:

• you've been in contact with someone positive, but are double jabbed
• you're under 18

New posts in Community Champions team

We are pleased to offer the following exciting roles to increase the capacity of the Community Champions team:

• Community Development Officer – 25 hours a week (£26,511 pro-rata)
• Project Support Worker – 19.5 hours a week (£21,748 pro-rata)

The Community Champion Scheme is working to aid community-wide recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic as well as building the capacity and resilience of the West Lancs community to work together.

Both of these posts are fixed term for 12 months initially, with the potential to extend if further funding becomes available.

For job descriptions and person specifications, please click on the job titles above.

If you would like to apply, please contact Jill Bradley, Operations Manager, West Lancs CVS for an application form – jill@wlcvs.org or ring 07598552941.

The closing date for both posts is Monday 27th September 2021.

Please note:  this is a re-advertisement of the above roles

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: