Health Secretary Matt Hancock has recently announced the COVID-19 vaccine to be in use by early next year. Results have shown it could prevent more than 90% of people from getting the virus. He said GPs would be given £150m to fund the vaccination clinics.
The surge in winter illness is keeping hospitals extremely busy during the colder months. The NHS have never before had to deal with the winter admissions alongside the COVID-19 admissions. Hospitals have been forced to close wards and increased staff to prepare for the upcoming months.
So how will the vaccine help NHS staff?
In the UK the first to be vaccinated will be elderly care home residents and care home staff. Followed by health care workers such as hospital staff. The first set of jabs are planned to happen before Christmas.
A matron from a local hospital said, “We are very worried for the second wave, we are hoping people will follow the government advice. The winter pressures alongside COVID will be very tough. “
“The only way we can keep motivated is teamwork and light at the end of the tunnel. The recent news regarding the vaccine has given us a glimmer of hope for the busy months ahead. We are all hoping the vaccine will mean less people are coming to hospitals and we can prioritise our care.”
Lincolnshire have now passed the 15,000 case mark and this weekend have announced 1,104 new cases and 18 COVID-19 related deaths. This is a dramatic increase from previous months.
In September, there were 820 cases across the county and by the end of October cases had peaked to 7,132. Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital had to close three wards last week due to the amount of new COVID admissions.