Vaccine Special

MAGGIE THROUP MP

Member of Parliament for Erewash

Dear Resident,

I was buoyed a few days ago when I visited the local vaccination hub for Erewash. Our GP practices are working as one within the local Primary Care Network and have already vaccinated a few thousand residents, including care home residents and staff.

However, our amazing GPs have asked me to pass on a message – they want to vaccinate as many residents as possible, as quickly as possible. And the best way you can help them do this is to WAIT to be contacted and NOT to contact your surgery directly.

This week more doses of vaccine will arrive which means vaccinations will be taking place in a second location, ensuring the pace of roll out is not only maintained, but speeded up.

My visit to the hub was not only an opportunity to thank the amazing staff and volunteers who are on the front line delivering the vaccine, but also to meet the many residents who were getting the jab, including Alicia, and so taking their first steps to getting their life back and staying safe.

Today, the Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, has set out full details of Government’s COVID Vaccination Delivery Plan, which will see vaccinations offered to everyone in the top four priority groups as designated by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation over the next six weeks.

Thanks to the heroic efforts of our NHS and Armed Forces, we have already vaccinated over 2.4 million people – more than the rest of Europe combined - with over 200,000 doses being administered each day.

By the end of this week it is intended that 1,200 GP-led, pharmacy-led and hospital vaccine delivery sites will have been established, together with seven large vaccination centres, to deliver what is the largest programme of mass vaccination ever carried out in the UK.

This mammoth task, which has been greatly boosted by the news that the MHRA has approved a third vaccine for use, will have protected a significant number of people from the risks the virus poses.

Of course, we remain cautiously optimistic about the timetable as there is inevitably a time lag between people receiving the jab and receiving immunity and then a further lag before pressure on our NHS begins to ease.

However, for the first time in nearly a year, thanks in the main to British science in the form of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine which has allowed us to implement our vaccination programme at pace, we can see the light at the end of this very dark tunnel and a route back to freedom.

For now, though, we must all stay at home in order to save lives and protect our NHS and importantly accept your appointment to be vaccinated when you get it.

With best wishes,

Maggie Throup MP
Member of Parliament for Erewash

P.S. For further details about the vaccination programme including how the priority groups are determined, please download and read this helpful leaflet produced by the NHS here.

P.P.S I have a created a dedicated COVID-19 page on my website, where you can access help and advice whether as an individual or a business!

COVID-19 SUPPORT

National Lockdown - What Does it Mean?

Since the start of the pandemic, we have all been engaged in a great national effort to fight Coronavirus.

These actions did achieve a significant reduction in the ‘R’ rate, and would have continued to work, had it not been for the advent of a new variant of the virus, which scientists have confirmed is between 50 and 70 per cent more transmissible.

This means that you are much more likely to catch the virus and to pass it on – a fact which is sadly reflected in the daily statistics, both in terms of those people testing positive, hospitalised and, tragically, those people who have died of Coronavirus.

Consequently, the four Chief Medical Officers of the United Kingdom have moved the country to alert level five, meaning that if action is not taken, NHS capacity may be overwhelmed within 21 days.

With hospitals under more pressure than at any time since the start of the pandemic, regretfully we are now in a further national lockdown to bring this new variant under control while the vaccination programme is rolled out.

The single most important action we can all take for is to stay at home to protect the NHS and save lives.

You must not leave, or be outside of your home except for the following very limited purposes:

To shop for basic necessities, for you or a vulnerable person
To go to work, or provide voluntary or charitable services, if you cannot reasonably do so from home
To exercise with your household (or support bubble) or one other person, this should be limited to once per day, and you should not travel outside your local area
To meet your support bubble or childcare bubble where necessary, but only if you are legally permitted to form one
To seek medical assistance or avoid injury, illness or risk of harm (including domestic abuse)
To attend education or childcare - for those eligible

If you do leave home for a permitted reason, you should always stay local - unless it is necessary to go further, for example to go to work. Stay local means stay in the village, town, or part of the city where you live.

If you are clinically extremely vulnerable you should only go out for medical appointments, exercise or if it is essential. You should not attend work.

For full information regarding national lockdown measures, including what you CAN and CANNOT do, visit https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-lockdown-stay-at-home

I am acutely aware of how tough this is situation is for everyone across our community, however, to put it bluntly, this is a matter of life or death.

Now more than ever, we must pull together by once again staying at home in order to protect our NHS and save lives. Only by doing this can we ensure the vaccination programme rolls out in its entirety, defeat the virus and regain our freedom.

Remember the Symptoms....

The main symptoms of Coronavirus to look out for include:

Raised Temperature
Persistent Cough
Loss of Smell
Loss of Taste

If you are showing symptoms, have been contacted by NHS Track and Trace (including through the NHS app) or if you or any of your household are self-isolating, you should stay at home - this is vital in order to keep others safe and saving lives.

For all the latest information, visit https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19

Office Update

In accordance with Government guidance, all of my office staff continue to work from home. But this has not stopped us working to support you - my office can still be contacted by email at [email protected] or by telephoning 0115 930 0521.

Due to the volume of work, I continue to operate a triage system rather than responding in a chronological way. So please do be patient if you are waiting for a response, but I’m sure you’ll understand that there needs to be a priority system in these unprecedented times.

Promoted by Ian F. Gutteridge, on behalf of Maggie Throup MP, both of Unit 2 The Old Co-Op, South Street, Ilkeston, Derbyshire DE7 5SG.

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Maggie Throup MP · Unit 2 The Old Co-Op · South Street · Ilkeston, Derbyshire DE7 5SG · United Kingdom