Health and Wellbeing

People aged 75 and over, residents in care homes for older people, frontline health and social care workers and those aged five and over with a severely weakened immune system can book a Covid autumn booster vaccine.

The autumn booster programme offers those who are most vulnerable a chance to top up their immunity ahead of winter because Covid-19 is more serious for older people and those with a weakened immune system.

The NHS will contact those who are eligible to make a booster appointment when it’s their turn to come forward. The vaccine will be offered to the following groups of people:

• Residents in a care home for older adults and staff working in care homes for older adults
• Frontline health and social care workers
• All adults aged 50 years and over
• Those aged five to 49 in a clinical risk group, as set out in the Green Book
• People aged five to 49 years old who are household contacts of people with immunosuppression
• Carers aged 16 to 49, as set out in the Green Book.

Once contacted, those who are eligible will be able to book an appointment three months after their previous dose by calling 119 or through the NHS website.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is aware of false claims on social media saying that its advice on the safety and effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines for pregnant or breastfeeding women has changed. This is not the case.

The MHRA would like to reassure everyone that their advice has not changed. The advice remains the same: that the Covid-19 vaccines are safe and effective and that women who are pregnant, breastfeeding or trying for a baby can have the Covid-19 vaccine. There is substantial evidence to support this advice.

If you or anyone you know has concerns about vaccination while you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, speak to your midwife, GP or healthcare professional.

Many of us know families and friends who have been impacted when someone dies by suicide. In Nottinghamshire there were 180 deaths by suicide between 2018 and 2020. Behind each one of these figures is a grieving family and friends who are left behind.

We would like to share the message that it’s so important for people to talk to their friends, colleagues or family if they’re worried about their mental health. Starting a conversation about mental health or suicide may seem like a daunting prospect, but it may just save a life. The Campaign Against Living Miserably has come up with some great tips for tackling those conversations.

If you’re an adult with lived experience, or a carer or professional, we’d like to hear from you about accessing mental health information online. Your views will help to inform the development of a mental health website for adults.

There are a number of ways to give us your feedback:

• You can participate in an online survey here or request a hard copy to complete at your leisure.
• You can share your views by phone.
• You can express your interest in joining a virtual focus group.
• You can request the Engagement Team attend one of your community group meetings.
• You can express your interest in joining a co-production group to support this work on a more ongoing basis.

Contact the team on 07818580719 / [email protected] or complete the survey.

We’re looking for people with experience of adult social care to help us find a new provider for prevention services. This will involve attending three virtual meetings.

The Department of Health and Social Care has announced that regular asymptomatic testing for Covid-19 in all remaining settings in England paused from 31 August.

Free testing for the public ended on 1 April as part of the government’s ‘Living with COVID-19’ plan, but asymptomatic testing continued to be used in some settings during periods of high case rates. Symptomatic testing in high-risk settings will continue.

The UK Health Security Agency has recently updated the guidance on how to use the NHS COVID Pass to demonstrate your Covid-19 status when travelling abroad to reflect that from 21 July, children aged five to 11 in England and the Isle of Man can get a digital NHS COVID Pass for international travel.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA), Food Standards Scotland (FSS), and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) are reinforcing their advice to vulnerable groups of consumers in relation to the risks of Listeria monocytogenes infection linked to ready to eat smoked fish.

The advice to those who are over 65, pregnant or have weakened immune systems is that they should ensure that ready to eat smoked fish is thoroughly cooked before they eat it. ‘Ready to eat smoked fish’ refers to chilled smoked fish products that would not normally be cooked at home before being eaten.

Students heading to university this month are being encouraged to ensure they are up to date with their vaccinations ahead of Freshers’ Week to protect themselves against a range of life-threatening illnesses.

The 3 vaccines students should get up to date with are:

1. MenACWY – protecting against 4 common strains causing meningitis and septicaemia
2. MMR – protecting against measles, mumps, rubella
3. HPV (for female students) – protecting against cervical and other cancers caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV) together with genital warts

Anyone who is unsure about their vaccine status can check with their GP practice to see if they are up to date and fully protected.