'Don't hesitate - get it done' says care home managers as elderly continue to get Covid vaccine

Care home managers are speaking of their positive experiences getting their coronavirus vaccine, as key workers, vulnerable people and the over 70s are among the first to get the jab.
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Care home general manager Charlene Porter has a simple message for anyone in two minds about having the Covid-19 vaccine - ”Please don’t hesitate - get it done.”

At Sherwood Lodge care home in Fulwood, Preston, Charlene and her staff were among the first in the Preston area to receive the vaccine.

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Now all 47 residents have received the jab and are awaiting their second dose.

Graham Parr, owner of Brookside Care Home, with manager Louise NewtonGraham Parr, owner of Brookside Care Home, with manager Louise Newton
Graham Parr, owner of Brookside Care Home, with manager Louise Newton

Charlene, General Manager of Sherwood Lodge, said the vaccine was a welcome arrival: “It was quick, it was easy and nobody has had any side effects. I wouldn’t hesitate to tell people to have the vaccine

“There is a lot of scaremongering out there but there is no need to be concerned - it has been a really positive thing.

“It has given reassurance to staff, our residents and relatives that we are doing all we can to protect them.”

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Graham Parr, owner of the Brookside Care Home in Bamber Bridge, said all staff and 25 residents had received the vaccine and it had gone very smoothly.

Charlene Porter, manager of Sherwood Lodge says people don't need to be concerned about the vaccineCharlene Porter, manager of Sherwood Lodge says people don't need to be concerned about the vaccine
Charlene Porter, manager of Sherwood Lodge says people don't need to be concerned about the vaccine

"We have had no problems whatsoever – and no side effects. Myself and my wife have both had it.At the most there is a little soreness in the arm and that’s it.”

Meanwhile, it has emerged that an estimated 15 per cent of people in the North West or one in 6.6 would have tested positive for antibodies to Covid-19 by December last year.

Nationally, the figures were one in eight.

The figures come from the Office for National Statistic’s Covid-19 Infection Survey in partnership with the University of Oxford, University of Manchester, Public Health England and Welcome Trust.

Residents at Brookside Care Home have also started receiving their vaccinesResidents at Brookside Care Home have also started receiving their vaccines
Residents at Brookside Care Home have also started receiving their vaccines
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They are based on the proportion of the population who are likely to have tested positive for antibodies to Covid-19, based on blood test results from a sample of people aged 16 and over, but do not reflect all the people who have had coronavirus and do not take account of antibodies waning over time.

The ONS found “substantial variation” between regions in England, with 17 per cent of people in private households in Yorkshire and the Humber estimated to have tested positive for antibodies in December, compared with 5 per cent in south-west England.

The study came as Health Secretary Matt Hancock revealed he is self-isolating after receiving an alert through the NHS Covid-19 app.

In a video posted on Twitter, he said: “Last night I was pinged by the NHS coronavirus app, so that means I’ll be self-isolating at home, not leaving the house at all until Sunday.”

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Mr Hancock, who has previously had coronavirus, said self-isolating is important because it is “how we break the chains of transmission”.

The vaccines - made by either Oxford-AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech - are being administered at hospitals, care homes, GP surgeries and vaccination centres.

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