Residents Urged to Stay Safe While They Wait for Booster Jabs

THE Council has urged residents to ensure they take practical steps to protect themselves whilst waiting to get their booster jabs, or other vaccinations.

The NHS is working hard on increasing vaccination capacity locally to deliver an enhanced booster programme. Reading Borough Council has offered to help the local NHS in any way it can.

In the meantime there remains substantial pressure on the system locally.  Reading’s mass vaccination centre at Broad Street Mall is currently operating at full capacity. Residents will need to continue to regularly check online for available local slots on the NHS website.

In the context of the fast-spreading Omicron variant, the Council’s advice to residents whilst they wait for their vaccinations is:

• Wear a face covering/face mask when inside or in crowded places (like public transport) and ensure it covers your nose and mouth
• Regularly wash your hands – cover every part of your hands and fingers with hot soapy water, rinse well and dry using a clean towel. Where you don’t have access to soap and water, use alcohol gel but wash your hands properly as soon as you can
• Keep surfaces and other touch points (e.g door handles) clean
• Socially distance as much as possible when you’re out of home - remember 1 in 3 people with COVID don’t have symptoms and could be spreading the virus without knowing it
• If you have visitors at home open the windows for just 10 minutes regularly, which can help reduce COVID in the air and transmission of the virus

Reading Borough Council Leader Jason Brock said:

“Whilst none of us wanted to be back in this position again just days before Christmas, the fact is we cannot just wish this latest variant away and we need to take practical steps to beat it. The best thing any of us can possibly do for our own health, the health of our families and the health of our community is to ensure we are up to date with our jabs. Vaccines remain our best protection against COVID.

“At the same time, there is understandable pressure on vaccination centres right across the country. We want people to book their boosters without delay, but realistically they may need to remain patient before the system builds in the additional capacity needed. We know NHS colleagues locally are working extremely hard to deliver that.

“In the meantime, and whilst people wait for their vaccinations, it is so important that we go back to those basic common sense principles we remember from last year – wear a mask, wash your hands regularly, keep your distance from people if possible and open windows regularly if you have visitors. It is also important to get tested regularly, particularly if you are mixing indoors. The Town Hall test site still has good capacity for supervised lateral flow tests – residents can just walk in and don’t need to book.

“NHS services will be under even more pressure than usual in the days and weeks to come and the Council has made contact with NHS colleagues locally to offer help in any way we can.

“Reading responded magnificently to the challenges of the pandemic this time last year and I have no doubt our community will respond again. Please follow the guidance as and when it changes, please get jabbed as soon as you can, and please stay safe.”

The Government is advising people to pre-book their COVID-19 booster dose on the NHS website at  https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/coronavirus-booster-vaccine/