Agenda item

An update will be provided at the meeting on the epidemiology of COVID 19 in Northumberland, developments with the Council’s COVID 19 Outbreak Prevention and Control Plan, and Vaccination Programme.  Presentation by Liz Morgan, Interim Executive Director for Public Health and Community Services.

Members received an update on the epidemiology of COVID 19 in Northumberland, developments with the Council’s COVID 19 Outbreak Prevention and Control Plan, and Vaccination Programme.  Presentation filed with the signed minutes. 

Liz Morgan, Interim Executive Director for Public Health and Community Services, gave a presentation to the Board and the key points included:-

·            It was increasingly difficult to make sense of the case data due to the changes in Government guidance.  Testing rates had dropped and testing in schools had ceased.  There was an increase in case rates due to the BA2 sub-variant which appeared to have a transmission advantage although there was no evidence of any impact on severity of illness or vaccine effectiveness.  Routine asymptomatic and symptomatic testing would end on 31 March 2022.

·            As a result of the Government announcement on 21 February 2022, contact tracing had ceased.  There was no longer a legal requirement to self isolate (although there was still a need to self isolate) and self-isolation support payments were no longer available.

·            Changes in statutory sick pay would revert back to previous arrangements.

·            Mobile, local and regional testing sites would cease to function at the end of March 2022 and most would then be demobilised and sites handed back.

·            The best source of data was the ONS Survey which provided estimates of the prevalence of infection.  In the week up to 26^th February it was estimated about 1 in 30 people in England would have tested positive which was a decrease from the previous week.  Covid was not naturally a mild disease, it was just less severe in people with reasonable immunity.

·            Living with Covid – the new plan covered four main areas:-

·            Removing domestic restrictions whilst encouraging safer behaviours through public health advice, in common with longstanding ways of managing other infectious illnesses.

·            Protecting the vulnerable through pharmaceutical interventions and testing, in line with other viruses.

·            Maintaining resilience against future variants.

·            Securing innovations and opportunities from the Covid-19 response, including investment in life sciences.

·            Next Steps and Future Response

·            It was planned to revert back to previous arrangements with outbreaks being handled by the Regional Health Protection Team.

·            Maintaining and building on the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) skills and capacity within care homes, high risk settings, education and child care settings and businesses.

·            There was an opportunity to review the sickness benefits system nationally to help families on low incomes and employed in jobs with less favourable sickness benefits so that they could self-isolate without financial consequences.

·            Vaccination Programme

·            The programme was continuing and had an evergreen offer of 1^st, 2^nd and booster jabs.  It was expected that there would be an autumn booster programme which would have greater alignment with other vaccination programmes.

·            Local Authorities had a clear role to support the vaccination programme by working closely with the CCG.

·            There was now a vaccination offer to 5-11 year olds, and there would be a spring booster dose for over 75s, residents of older adult care homes, and 12+ who were immunosuppressed.  This was in addition to the evergreen offer and continued community engagement to promote uptake and access to the vaccine.

·            Contingency plans had to be in place in case of a surge in cases.

·            It was important to embed behaviours to prevent the spread of Covid which would also prevent the transmission of most other infectious respiratory illnesses.  This included looking at the ‘presenteeism’ culture.  Communication remained crucial and should comprise of simple, consistent messages.

RESOLVED that the presentations be received.