District Council officers support vaccination programme

After the new-walk in site opened on Monday 20 December at Newark Showground and more than 50 other vaccination sites across Nottinghamshire, doing your bit in the fight against Omicron has never been more important.

Officers from different services across the District Council have signed up to volunteer their time to support the mass vaccination programme in Nottinghamshire.  Councillors too have stepped forward in what must be one of the biggest vaccination campaigns we’ve seen.

Jane Thompson, who normally works at the District Council looking after tenants, volunteered this weekend at Rainworth Medical Centre. She said: “I had some time to spare and felt it was important to help out where I could. I went over to Rainworth Medical Centre and assisted the staff with the vaccination session, it went well and the staff were incredibly grateful of the help we had offered to this mass vaccination effort.”

Councillor David Lloyd, Leader of Newark and Sherwood District Council said: “Staff across the District Council have gone above and beyond since the pandemic started.  From being redeployed to deliver urgent food and medicine deliveries, to supporting local businesses; their resilience and tenacity to just keep going is remarkable.

“And we’ve asked our staff to step up again, and step up they have.  They are giving up their usual roles or even their Christmas leave, their weekends and their evenings to support our NHS and CCG colleagues and help with our County’s vaccination effort.

“It has to be carefully balanced but this is not the time to shy away from supporting the vaccination programme and we know this is the best chance we have got of suppressing the Omicron variant. We will monitor our own workforce daily to ensure our critical services are maintained at all times but, as always throughout this pandemic, we will step up when the ask comes.

“To every resident, please support this vaccination boost, and if you are eligible for a vaccine, get it.”

District Council staff have been supporting the pandemic since it first appeared in the UK.  Initially setting up a new Humanitarian Assistance Response team, redeploying officers from all over the Council to support hundreds of isolated and vulnerable residents with vital medicine and urgent food deliveries. The District Council made thousands of wellbeing phone calls, organised a food hub on the stage at the Palace Theatre, paid millions in business grants as well as continuing to deliver their critical services.  Around £50million in grants were paid to local businesses in the Newark and Sherwood area to help them with difficult trading periods when in lockdown or while national/local restrictions were in place.

In more recent weeks, Community Protection Officers have been visiting retailers and hospitality providers to ensure they have all they need given the change in guidance. Licensing staff have been out visiting those venues affected by the introduction of vaccination passports to help them understand their requirements.

Around 40,000 available bookable appointments are available on the NHS website at a number of sites across the district with more slots being added every day.  Three new-walk in sites have opened this week at the Newark Showground, The Richard Herrod Leisure Centre (Carlton) and The Victoria Health Centre (Nottingham).

All those aged 18 and over are now eligible for a booster jab.  Book your appointment by calling 119 or visiting the NHS website.  Residents do not need an appointment for the new walk-in centres however there may be a queue so it is advised to wrap up warm.