Residents are being reminded to ‘get thee sen a jab, duck’ as the best way to protect themselves and their loved ones from the coronavirus.
The news comes as the seven-day rate of coronavirus cases in Stoke-on-Trent is now 514.1 per 100,000 people, for the week 5 December to 11 December 2021 with today’s national figures at record levels. There continues to be a significant rise in cases, with 249 cases reported in one day in the city. The percentage of people who have had a test and tested positive is 11.3 per cent.
While everyone is being urged to get their jabs, in particular communities who live in parts of the city with some of the lowest take up of the vaccine are being asked to make sure they come forward to get their jabs to help themselves, friends and families do all they can to avoid the virus. These areas include Shelton, Hanley, Cobridge, Tunstall, Normacot and Meir where there is below national average take up for all jabs and in all age groups.
Dr Paul Edmondson- Jones, said “We want everyone to get their jabs, whether they’ve had one, two or need their booster, it’s so important that people grab their jabs. It’s not too late to start and build up to the third jab – every vaccine helps to reduce the risk of hospitalisation or death and with the news about how quickly the Omicron variant is spreading, we want people to act now.”
“Case numbers are raising rapidly in the city – to put it in context, numbers aren’t far off what they were in July last year when we were emerging from full lockdown - and so I’m recommending that every individual can and should take steps to protect themselves.”
“Let’s start a movement that encourages others to ‘get thee sen a jab’ so we can show solidarity as a city, to kick coronavirus out of Stoke-on-Trent.”
Additional advice issued by council public health officials includes asking people to keep testing to avoid passing the virus to others and if they have any symptoms at all to get a PCR test.
To meet increased demand with rising cases and in the lead up to Christmas, simple steps to follow are being outlined. They include testing twice a week with lateral flow tests, ordering only the tests that are needed either from the national website, or from pharmacies using a code from the website that allows you to click and collect. At the same time, contacts of people who have tested positive for Covid need to get a PCR test and can lateral flow test every day so they do not have to isolate unless they have a positive test in the meantime.
Paul continued: “Stoke-on-Trent is now 65th in England (519) and second highest in the West Midlands (451) and we’re seeing increased demand for testing as we get closer to Christmas. We want people to test and to do so in the right way. We are in a good place in that we have a number of locations in Stoke-on-Trent where people can pick up tests.
“But you won’t have failed to see some of the recent coverage about test shortages. Taking these steps help us maintain a sensible balance so that we have enough tests to go around and can continue to use them as the valuable tool they are. Please also don’t forget to report your result as it gives us hugely helpful system information.”
Cllr Abi Brown, leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council said: “All the PCR testing sites were incredibly busy yesterday, so we expect case numbers will rise significantly in the next few days.
“And what is probably most significant is that we don’t know yet fully what impact Omicron is going to have in the city – this will become clearer in the next few days. What we do know though is that on average one person with covid is spreading it to three or five other people.
“We need to act sensibly – get vaccinated, test, were your face covering, wash your hands and maintain social distancing. Consider keeping your space well ventilated and/or meeting outside if you can. Every step you take to keep yourself free from the virus is helpful – to you, your family and your friends. Let’s keep doing all we can to kick coronavirus out of this city.”
There are three ways to get your vaccine before 31 December 2021:
- Book online through the National Booking System
- Phone 119 (free to call)
- Attend a walk-in clinic, the details can be found here: https://www.twbstaffsandstoke.org.uk/coronavirus/how-to-get-a-vaccine-where-and-travelling
Due to the high demand the NHS are increasing the number of appointments, so please keep checking for the latest availability.
Local GP practices are very busy, treating urgent cases and delivering vaccinations. Please do not contact your GP practice directly to ask for a Covid-19 vaccination appointment.
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