Public Health officials advise residents to ‘Get your booster jab before 11 December and make Christmas safer for you and your loved ones.’

26 November 2021

Northamptonshire’s Director of Public Health is echoing the Health and Social Care Secretary, Sajid Javid, in urging eligible residents to get their COVID-19 booster jab by 11 December to ensure they have 'very high protection against COVID by Christmas Day.'

New data published in the British Medical Journal this week further highlighted just how important the booster jab is. The first real-world study on the effectiveness of booster vaccines by the UK Health Security Agency shows top-up jabs boost protection back up to over 90% against symptomatic COVID-19 in adults aged over 50.

The findings show that two weeks after receiving a booster dose, protection against symptomatic infection in adults aged 50 years and over was 93.1% in those with Oxford / AstraZeneca as their primary course and 94.0% for Pfizer-BioNTech.

This means people who will have had their booster vaccine by 11 December will have very high protection against COVID-19 by Christmas Day.

We must protect the gains we have made through our vaccination programme this winter, and I urge everybody to help make this happen. I’m urging all those who are eligible and six months from their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccination to make sure they get their booster jab before 11 December to make Christmas safer for themselves and their loved ones. A coronavirus (COVID-19) booster vaccine dose helps improve the protection gained from your first two doses of the vaccine and it helps give longer-term protection against getting seriously ill from COVID-19.

Also, I can’t stress strongly enough the importance of the vaccine in general. Vaccines are safe, effective and they work. They have played a critical role in breaking the link between infection and severe outcomes in Northamptonshire, England and across the world. They give you the best protection against COVID-19.

Vaccines offer us hope for controlling the pandemic, but we need as many people to get vaccinated as possible for this to work best. Every vaccination counts, including yours. I urge you to get your first and second doses if you haven’t already, to secure vital protection during the winter to keep you and your loved ones safe.Lucy Wightman, Joint Director of Public Health, North and West Northamptonshire Councils

Those eligible for a booster include:

• people aged 40 and over
• people who live and work in care homes
• frontline health and social care workers
• people aged 16 and over with a health condition that puts them at high risk of getting seriously ill from COVID-19
• people aged 16 and over who are a main carer for someone at high risk from COVID-19
• people aged 16 and over who live with someone who is more likely to get infections (such as someone who has HIV, has had a transplant or is having certain treatments for cancer, lupus, or rheumatoid arthritis)
• people who are pregnant and in one of the eligible groups can also get a booster dose.

The NHS will let you know when it's your turn to have one. If you have been contacted by the NHS to say that you are eligible for a booster dose, you can book your appointment on the NHS website or visit selected local drop-in services. 

Alternatively, patients can call 119 or book via the National Booking Service website. The National Booking Service now allows those eligible for a booster vaccine to pre-book their jab 5 months after their second dose. People will still receive their vaccine 6 months after their second dose, but the change will speed up the vaccination programme by allowing people to receive a jab the day they become eligible, rather than waiting for a convenient appointment.

Northamptonshire saw rising cases in mid-September through to mid-October. After this, cases started to decline, however, the increased case volumes seen in recent weeks indicate that cases are once again starting to rise.

This week's data surveillance report, an analysis of the county’s recent coronavirus cases and rates over the period 08 – 14 November 2021, shows:

• 3,434 residents tested positive for COVID-19 this week. This is an increase of 1% compared with previous week.
• Northamptonshire’s infection rate per 100,000 population is 448.0, which is higher than last week (427.6) and significantly higher than the national average (423.0).
• The highest rates locally are Corby (522.0) and Kettering (483.4).
• Twelve people died within 28 days of a positive test.
• Positive cases for both males and females aged 0 to 9 years have increased again in the recent week after a decreasing trend since October.
• The age group with the most positive cases for both males and females was predominately 10- to 19-year-olds, followed by 40- to 49-year-olds.
• Over the last 4-week period the number of cases amongst people aged 60+ has plateaued but numbers remain high.
• Overall, more women than men tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 28 days.
• The latest data shows a total of 91 COVID-19 patients occupied hospital beds in Northamptonshire on 23 November 2021, which represents a further 4% decrease when compared to the previous week (16 November 2021).