17 February 2021

Dear Resident,

It is, of course, fantastic news that the NHS has achieved its target of offering a COVID-19 vaccine to the 15 million most vulnerable people in the country by mid Feb. More than 100,000 people have already been vaccinated in Buckinghamshire. We now have a large number of vaccine sites across the county and I had the opportunity to see two of them first-hand last week. The first was our new ‘mass vaccination’ centre at the Buckinghamshire New University campus in Aylesbury. Here I met and talked to some of the brilliant NHS staff and volunteers who are making this achievement possible. The second was at the local doctor managed site at Stoke Mandeville Stadium, where it was a pleasure to welcome the Health Secretary Matt Hancock to see how well this was going.

To get all of these sites up and running in a matter of a few weeks has been a phenomenal achievement and I want to pay tribute to everyone involved, including our own council staff, the fire service, our NHS colleagues including our hard-working pharmacists, GPs and practice staff, and the teams of volunteers on the ground making this work. You can read more about the vaccination programme in Buckinghamshire on our website.

What next?The NHS is carrying on working down the vaccine priority list. People aged 65 and over can now book a vaccine via the national system without having to wait for a letter – you can do this here on the NHS website. If you are 65 or over and would rather get your vaccine via your GP then please still wait for them to contact you.

If you’re aged 70 or over and haven’t had your vaccine yet then you don’t have to wait to be asked – please book online, call 119 or contact your GP to arrange an appointment. Everyone aged 70 and over and the Clinically Extremely Vulnerable should have been invited by now and the NHS is following up with anyone who hasn’t been vaccinated yet, as well as going out to housebound patients. If you are in this group and for whatever reason, you haven’t yet had your vaccine, please contact the NHS to organise it.

You may have seen that yesterday the Government added a further 1.7 million people to the ‘shielding’ list, as they are now taking in other risk factors such as age, ethnicity and weight when evaluating how vulnerable a person is to COVID-19. Any Bucks residents who fall into this group will get a letter from the NHS explaining that they will now be advised to ‘shield’ and will be eligible for added support as a result, such as priority shopping slots; plus they will be eligible to receive a vaccine now.

The vaccine is safe

It’s effective and it will offer you the best possible protection against COVID-19, which as we know, carries significant health risks especially amongst the elderly and vulnerable. If you want to know more about how the vaccine works then our NHS colleagues at Buckinghamshire CCG have put a great short video on their website, answering some common questions. If you’ve got any concerns about the vaccine this film is also well worth a watch to allay some common fears, especially amongst our Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic residents, and to remind us all why it’s so important to take up the vaccine offer.

I’d also like to urge health and social care staff to come forward for a vaccine if you’ve not had it already. Please contact your employer if you work in this sector and if you’re self-employed please email us at COVIDvaccination@buckinghamshire.gov.uk. Having your COVID-19 vaccine will help protect you and the people you are looking after.

Some important reminders

If you have had your vaccine then please remember that you must still follow the rules and continue to socially distance and to stay at home. Infection rates remain high and, as yet, we still don’t have reliable data on whether people who’ve been vaccinated can still pass on the disease even if they have protection from getting seriously ill themselves.

And finally, a word of warning; you might be aware of some scams circulating that are asking people to pay for a vaccine. Please remember, the NHS will never ask for your bank details and will not ask you to pay for a vaccine. If in doubt, please ask someone you trust to take a look if you’ve had an email. Don’t commit to anything over the phone unless you’re sure who’s making the call.

Book a test if you’re leaving home to work or volunteer

We now have rapid testing sites in Aylesbury and High Wycombe for people who are leaving their homes to go to work or to volunteer to get tested for COVID-19 if they don’t have symptoms. I’ve been myself and while doing the swab is a bit uncomfortable, it’s really quick, easy and straightforward. These rapid lateral flow tests will help us detect infections in people who don’t have symptoms so please do come and get a test if you can’t work from home or are going out to volunteer. You can read more and book online on our website.

These rapid tests are not for people who do have symptoms of COVID-19. If you feel unwell or even have very mild symptoms and suspect you might have COVID then please book a test via the national system online or by calling 119. It’s essential that you and everyone you live with isolates immediately. If you are on a low income and can’t work from home while you’re isolating you might qualify for a self-isolation payment of £500. We need everyone with symptoms to stay at home and avoid seeing others to stop the chains of transmission.

Current situation in Bucks

We are pleased to see cases continue to fall across Buckinghamshire as the lockdown continues; a huge thank you to everyone for sticking to the national guidance as we all work hard together to get these figures down further still. As ever, you can get information on the latest local case numbers on our COVID-19 dashboard and on the Government’s website. We will all have a better sense of how the country will come out of the lockdown when the government publishes its roadmap next week.

However, please remember that infection levels are currently still high and now is not the time to start taking any chances, so please do keep following all the current lockdown guidance to the letter. We can see our way out of this, which is great news, but we cannot risk letting infections spread amongst the many people who have not yet been vaccinated.
If you own a business that’s suffered because of the current restrictions please don’t forget we still have grant schemes open that you may be eligible for – please take a look on our website at the support for businesses section.

Thank you

We’ve all made many sacrifices and are all missing out on doing many of the things we love during this lockdown. It’s hard to single out any specific groups as everyone is doing their bit in their own way, from shop workers, to delivery drivers, to police officers, to nursery staff, to volunteers, to unpaid carers, to grandparents not seeing their grandchildren, to people not seeing their friends and loved ones and the very many others too.

I also want to say a huge thank you to all educators and school staff who are teaching remotely whilst keeping schools open for vulnerable and key worker children, and to parents, carers and of course, children who are working so hard with home learning. The first half of this school term has not been easy so thank you and well done for all you are doing.

And to anyone who’s struggling – please reach out if you need some support. There’s plenty of info on our website and in the Bucks Online Directory and Health and Wellbeing Bucks is also a great starting point if you’re feeling low. If you need support with food or energy bills please get in touch with our Helping Hand team; they’re ready to offer advice and support including food vouchers for eligible families during the school holidays.

Stay safe and look after yourselves and each other,

Martin Tett
Leader of Buckinghamshire Council 

Dear Resident,

I’m sure you will have heard the good news this morning about the approval of the Oxford vaccine. Whilst this is excellent news for the future, we are currently faced with a rapidly deteriorating situation with regards to our Buckinghamshire health and social care system.

This is a direct result of the situation prior to the introduction of Tier 4 when our number of positive cases were increasing. As we still haven’t yet seen the impact from moving into Tier 4, these numbers have continued to increase swiftly, fuelled by the new, far more transmissible COVID-19 variant.

Figures up to 24 December put the number of cases now up at 514 per 100,000 and current projections are expecting this to increase to closer to 800 per 100,000 by next week. This compares to the current average COVID-19 rate in England of 402.6 per 100,000.

Of greatest concern, this increase is also being seen in our older age groups. Our rate in the over 60s population has gone up by over 60% and this is now putting our health services under very severe pressure, not helped by staff shortages through increasing numbers of positive cases and self-isolation amongst staff. The pressure on the Buckinghamshire NHS is mirrored in surrounding areas.

Taking all of this into account, Buckinghamshire Council, in consultation with NHS partners, has declared a ‘Major Incident’, amid fears the number of COVID-19 cases could overwhelm our local health and social care services. For example, hospitals in Buckinghamshire are already having to postpone or delay non urgent treatment.

I completely understand that most people are continuing to follow the government’s guidance. However, frankly some are not. Also, it would be quite tempting to see the announcement of the new Oxford vaccine as meaning that the pandemic is nearly over and we can relax. It is not over and we certainly cannot relax our behaviours. It’s vital that we all continue to play our part in helping to reduce the transmission of the virus by strictly following the current Tier 4 guidance. I would encourage everyone to stay at home as much as possible and help those who are vulnerable, by offering to collect their shopping and prescriptions etc.

Of course, I realise that many people are struggling during this difficult time; so, if you or someone you know needs support – perhaps with food or finances – then please don’t hesitate to contact one of the support lines below.

• Helping Hands – Call 01296 531 151 to get support with food and energy bills over winter. The phone line is open Monday to Thursday, 9am to 5:30pm, Friday, 9am to 5pm. In an emergency, please call our out of hours team on 0800 999 7677.
• Test and Trace Support Payments – If you are asked to self-isolate, you may be entitled to a Test and Trace Support Payment of £500, depending on your personal circumstances. (See the link for full details.)
• Local Emergency Support – If you live in Buckinghamshire, you may be able to apply for Local Emergency Support. This is intended to cover urgent short-term emergencies (i.e. no immediate food, no heating or lighting) through the use of food banks, food vouchers, and utility meter top-ups. Apply online or call us on 01296 382 414 during office hours. An out of hours service is also available by calling 0800 999 7677.

If you or anyone from your household develops COVID-19 symptoms, it is important to be tested as soon as possible. Call 119 or book a test online. If you or someone in your household is feeling unwell (about anything), call 111 for information and advice or call 999 if it’s an emergency.

If you have a less urgent concern or a minor illness, I’d like to remind you that excellent sources of health advice are also available via the Ask NHS app, NHS 111 online and at your local pharmacy. By using these options for minor health concerns, you can help GP practices ensure that we support patients with the most urgent needs more quickly.

Lots of other health and wellbeing information, including advice on self-care and looking after your mental health, is available via the Buckinghamshire Ready for Winter page.

Vaccinations

Our NHS partners are working hard to get the vaccines rolled out as quickly as possible and we are expecting more local sites to come on stream in the next few weeks. The NHS will be announcing these as soon as possible. You will also be advised when it is your turn to be vaccinated.

We are so close to turning the corner on the control of this horrible pandemic. I am confident that by late spring things should have improved significantly and we can begin to look forward to a return to something nearer normality. However, please don’t let us fall at this final hurdle. There is still time for many vulnerable people to contract COVID-19, with possibly fatal consequences, in this winter period. An overloaded local health system can also endanger the lives of those with other serious health conditions. So, for the coming weeks please, if you can, stay at home, stay safe, and protect Bucks and each other.

Martin Tett
Leader of Buckinghamshire Council