Across South West London we have now vaccinated over half of our adult population, an incredible milestone to have passed. We have now delivered over 880,000 vaccinations, including over 158,000 first doses in Croydon according to the latest NHS published figures. We know there are still many more vaccines to deliver and we continue work hard to increase this particularly in those communities and areas with a lower uptake.
- The NHS is now inviting 40 year olds to book their vaccine through the national booking system
- We continue to reach out and engage with our communities including vaccination pop-up clinics at His Grace Evangelical Outreach, Trinity Baptist Church and Sakthy Ghanapathy Temple.
- We have held walk in and twilight vaccination sessions at Selhurst Park, Centrale Shopping Centre and Fairfield Halls - hoping to remove barriers for local people and encourage them to take up the offer of the vaccine
- We are working hard to reach out to some of our more vulnerable communities including the homeless, asylum seekers, people in temporary accommodation and sex workers with dedicated pop-up vaccination clinics at Nightwatch soup kitchen and Lantern Hall. We’ve also partnered with Rainbow Health Centre to deliver a roving model that has given the first vaccine to 516 members of this group in hostels, emergency shelters and rough sleepers.
- Those under 30 who are eligible for the vaccine, will be offered an alternative to the AZ vaccine with Moderna or Pfizer – they should contact their GP to discuss their options when it is their turn to be vaccinated
We hope you find this regular update helpful, please do let us know if you have any questions.
Thank you,
Matthew Kershaw
Place Based Leader for Health
Dr Agnelo Fernandes
GP Borough Lead for Croydon
NHS South West London Clinical Commissioning Group
Questions (and answers) of the week
Can vaccines be mixed?
At the moment, people are offered the same vaccine for both of their doses. The Oxford Vaccine Group’s Com-Cov vaccine trial is currently testing how well people’s immune systems respond when they are primed with one type of vaccine, then boosted with another. They are also looking at how good the response is when the second dose is separated from the first dose by different periods of time. More information is available here – https://comcovstudy.org.uk/home.
How long does immunity last?
The first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine should give you good protection from Covid-19 after three or four weeks. But you need to have the two doses of the vaccine to give you longer lasting protection.
Can I get a Covid-19 vaccine if I’m vegan?
The approved Covid-19 vaccines do not contain any animal products or egg. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Foundation is a UK-based charity dedicated to establishing and protecting the rights of all animals, they have published recommendations for people who are vegan and considering having a vaccine (https://www.peta.org.uk/blog/vegans-covid-19-vaccine/)
Will the vaccines work with the new strains?
Scientists continue to look carefully at the characteristics of the virus in relation to the vaccines. There is no evidence currently that the new strains will be resistant to the vaccines we have, and vaccination remains the best protection we have against Covid-19. Viruses, such as the winter flu virus, often branch into different strains but these small variations rarely render vaccines ineffective.
Do the Covid-19 vaccines affect fertility?
There is no evidence to suggest that Covid-19 vaccines will affect fertility, and you do not need to avoid pregnancy after vaccination. The vaccine cannot give you or your baby Covid-19. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and the Royal College Midwives (RCM) issued a joint statement to reassure around the misinformation shared about the impact of Covid-19 vaccines on fertility. In the statement, Dr Edward Morris, President at RCOG, said: "We want to reassure women that there is no evidence to suggest that Covid-19 vaccines will affect fertility." RCM Chief Executive Gill Walton added: "Women who are eligible for the vaccination should consider discussing any concerns they have with their midwife or healthcare professional." The full statement can be read here.
