England remains in Step 4 of the government’s roadmap, meaning guidance emphasising personal judgement and responsibility takes the place of the majority of legal COVID restrictions. We need to remain cautious and remember that the pandemic is not yet over. We must still work together to continue to carefully manage the virus over the coming months. For more information about Step 4 and how you can do your bit to stay safe, please see the gov.uk website here.
Birmingham City Council’s dashboard of Covid-19 information for the week ending 19th September can be seen here. Across Birmingham, the number of cases decreased this week by 412 cases.
Hospital admissions across the city decreased briefly in the last two weeks, ranging between 24 and 45 new cases a day. There were 15 deaths from COVID-19 reported for the week in Birmingham.
The overall rates of testing decreased again in the past 7 days, as did the percentage of those testing positive. All adults who don’t have symptoms are encouraged to test regularly using the free rapid lateral flow tests. You can order free at-home tests here, and testing kits are also available at our local network of community pharmacies.
Spread appears to be primarily occurring through household, social and workplace interactions, but it isn’t inevitable and www.germdefence.org can help.
People aged 16 and over are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. Some children aged 12 to 15 who have a higher risk of getting seriously ill from COVID-19, or who live with someone at high risk of catching it, are also eligible for the vaccine.
Adults aged 18 or over can book a vaccination, or manage an existing appointment, here, or can schedule a vaccination by calling 119. Under-16’s cannot use this service and will be contacted by the NHS to arrange an appointment, however some walk-in centres are now vaccinating this age group.
Walk-in vaccination clinics are still taking place at locations across Birmingham and Solihull for first doses and those eligible to receive a second dose, with some offering the vaccine to ages 16+. Walk-in clinic locations, times and age-ranges can be checked here.
This autumn all young people aged 12 to 15 years are being offered the first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. More information here
Vaccine boosters are rolled out to the same priority groups as previously. This means care home residents, health and social care workers, people aged over 50, those aged 16 to 49 years with underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk of severe COVID-19, adult carers, and adult household contacts of immunosuppressed individuals will be prioritised. More information here