Autumn Fare

Most of the greengrocers locally have displays of autumn fare, they look lovely. Yesterday I got a text inviting me for my Covid booster jab by booking through clicking a link. That only gave me 1 date as an option so I booked it, even though only 5 months since my 2nd jab, not 6 as recommended. It also made it clear that you couldn’t ring them about the process. So I sent a message to my surgery in Holt to query it. I got a text this morning to ring Reception. She read out a note to say it should be 6 months and I should change it, so I explained my query was also how to change it. She put me through to Nurse Admin who told me it wasn’t a booster but a top up as I was clinically vulnerable. So I asked her to find out why I’m on that list and why no-one has ever told me. (I do have one condition where the charity that supports it says it might lower your immune system and how you react to vaccines. I have queried that with a doctor before, but they’d not had Covid guidance on it). Not impressed. 

Day 571 / Day 82 of Step 4 of Roadmap Easing (for my record only)
Deaths in Brazil pass 600,000, 2nd only to the US. The Foreign Office is lifting the ‘all but essential travel’ advice to a further 51 countries re Covid. England’s R number rises to 0.9 - 1.1, with a growth rate of -1% to +2%. The ONS weekly infection survey in private households show 1in 70 with the virus in Eng (up); 1 in 60 in Scotland (down); 1 in 55 in Wales (same); 1 in 130 in NI (down). Jab trial participants are to be offered two addition approved jabs to enable them to travel abroad. The Guardian is reporting on recommendations made by health officials in the UK in 2016 following an exercise undertaken following the Mers outbreak. They include having PPE stockpiles, needing screening for travellers and a contact tracing system. PHE are investigating a ‘high number’ of people in SW England who tested positive on a lateral flow test, then negative on a PCR test. Health chiefs are saying there could be up to 60,000 respiratory virus deaths this winter, much higher than normal, and if you have both Covid and flu your risk of death doubles. They are encouraging us to get our flu jabs.