This week's message from the doctor:
Hello Everyone,
The good news is that there has not been a huge surge in infections that were predicted for August and that is probably because we have been mainly outdoors and enjoying the weather. However, numbers are generally rising slowly and there have been some areas where spikes in the number of infections have been caused by large gatherings especially if these are indoors. So areas such as Cornwall, the Isle of Wight and parts of Northern England have seen rises. Infections are highest amongst the 18-30 yrs old as they tend to mix more and many are still unvaccinated. We know that only a small proportion of children and young people get serious Covid infections. But if a lot of youngsters become infected then that proportion can be a big number putting greater pressure on hospital and intensive care beds. The R number – the ‘Reproduction rate’ of the virus has increased from 0.8-1.0 last week to 0.9-1.2. This means that 10 people with Covid will on average pass the infection to between 9-12 people. So this means that the pandemic is growing. This is borne out by numbers on Friday (20th August) - 37,300 infections and 114 deaths. Over 6,300 people with Covid are in hospital and this is up by about 1000 in the last month. While the majority of deaths from Covid have occurred in older people, the under the 50s account for more hospital admissions. Three-quarters of this age group in hospital are unvaccinated and are obviously very ill. So the message for those young people is to get vaccinated as soon as you can.
Sixteen year olds have been getting their jabs in the latest update to the vaccination programme. New studies indicate that the younger you are the longer the immunity lasts from a vaccine. So for now, 16 yr olds are only being offered a single dose. In the UK Children aged 12-15 who are clinically vulnerable to Covid or live with adults who are at increased risk of serious illness are being invited for a vaccine. Children who are eligible include those with Down’s syndrome, undergoing cancer therapy, who have had organ or bone marrow transplants or who are on the learning disability register. The vaccine is also being offered to children 12 yrs and above who live with someone who is immunosuppressed, such as those receiving chemotherapy or who have had a transplant. All children and young people will only be getting the Pfizer vaccine.
A new study from Oxford and the Office of National Statistics (ONS) on PCR tests from more than 300,000 volunteers was published last week. The study looked at how immunity decreases over time after getting both jabs. They found that two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine initially gave more than 90% protection against Covid protection. For the Oxford-Astra Zeneca (AZN) jab this was just over 70%. Over three months the protection given by the Pfizer jab falls significantly whereas that of the AZN reduced also but much less. This is not alarming as it sounds as Pfizer starts off from a high level. The researchers concluded that both vaccines will give similar but very effective protection at around 5 months but it's worth emphasizing that both give excellent protection against severe disease and hospitalisation. Longer term protection of the vaccines still needs further work. The study also showed that double vaccinated people can carry the same number of viruses if they get infected with delta as unvaccinated people. What this means is that they can pass on the infection to other people. So if you get a Covid infection you need to take extra precautions to stop infecting other people even if you are double vaccinated.
Third booster doses for the over 50s are being planned from September. However, government advisors from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are yet to confirm the next phase of the vaccination programme. They feel that instead of a catch-all booster programme that these particular jabs should be targeted to only those that need a booster. So the very elderly and vulnerable would have the jab but how do you decide on the rest of the population over 50? Looking for low antibody levels (a blood test) will be time consuming on a large scale. However, the government have just announced that from Tuesday 24th August anyone over the age of 18 will be able to opt in to have an antibody test. Up to 8,000 participants will then be sent two finger prick tests. The first must be taken as soon as possible after a positive PCR test and the second 28 days later to allow the body to generate antibodies. The main purpose of this testing is to see whether antibodies protect against other variants of coronavirus. Such testing may also allow us to see what groups of people do not develop an immune response. A similar system could possibly be used in the future to target people who need a booster. Israel is already giving boosters to the over 50s to try and curb a huge recent spike in infections - nearly 7,500 per day, almost double what it was 2 weeks ago. Most other wealthy countries are planning to offer boosters also. The most likely scenario is that the UK booster programme will start in September.
Long Covid is a problem that is affecting thousands of people in this country including many children and millions worldwide. New studies seem to indicate that patients with this syndrome have higher markers for blood clotting which may help explain their persistent symptoms of fatigue and reduced physical fitness. These clotting markers are high in patients who need hospital treatment with severe Covid. However, they are also raised in patients who are able to manage their symptoms at home. As people recover the inflammation markers gradually reduce but in some, the clotting markers remain elevated. This suggests that the clotting system is one of the root causes involved in Long Covid. Understanding this will help scientists and doctors to develop effective therapies.
Now something non covid related but very important. Bowel cancer. 1 in 20 people will get this in their lifetime. NHS bowel screening is being offered but at the moment only just over 60% take this up in our area. If you are 55yrs you will be invited for a one-off ‘bowel- scope’ which involves a camera up the back passage. If you are 60-74yrs you will automatically be invited to do a home test every 2 years. Please watch out for this information through the post and please do go for your bowel screening or submit a home stool test. It might save your life. If you are over 75 yrs then you can ask for a home testing kit every 2 years by calling the bowel screening helpline on 0800 707 6060.
At any age please don't ignore symptoms such as persistent abdominal pain, chest pain, shortness of breath, abnormal bleeding, weight loss, odd skin blemishes. If in doubt - please give us a call or 111.
Stay Safe Everyone
Bye for now
Dr M Tanvir Jamil
Senior Partner
Burnham Health Centre
The good news is that there has not been a huge surge in infections that were predicted for August and that is probably because we have been mainly outdoors and enjoying the weather. However, numbers are generally rising slowly and there have been some areas where spikes in the number of infections have been caused by large gatherings especially if these are indoors. So areas such as Cornwall, the Isle of Wight and parts of Northern England have seen rises. Infections are highest amongst the 18-30 yrs old as they tend to mix more and many are still unvaccinated. We know that only a small proportion of children and young people get serious Covid infections. But if a lot of youngsters become infected then that proportion can be a big number putting greater pressure on hospital and intensive care beds. The R number – the ‘Reproduction rate’ of the virus has increased from 0.8-1.0 last week to 0.9-1.2. This means that 10 people with Covid will on average pass the infection to between 9-12 people. So this means that the pandemic is growing. This is borne out by numbers on Friday (20th August) - 37,300 infections and 114 deaths. Over 6,300 people with Covid are in hospital and this is up by about 1000 in the last month. While the majority of deaths from Covid have occurred in older people, the under the 50s account for more hospital admissions. Three-quarters of this age group in hospital are unvaccinated and are obviously very ill. So the message for those young people is to get vaccinated as soon as you can.
Sixteen year olds have been getting their jabs in the latest update to the vaccination programme. New studies indicate that the younger you are the longer the immunity lasts from a vaccine. So for now, 16 yr olds are only being offered a single dose. In the UK Children aged 12-15 who are clinically vulnerable to Covid or live with adults who are at increased risk of serious illness are being invited for a vaccine. Children who are eligible include those with Down’s syndrome, undergoing cancer therapy, who have had organ or bone marrow transplants or who are on the learning disability register. The vaccine is also being offered to children 12 yrs and above who live with someone who is immunosuppressed, such as those receiving chemotherapy or who have had a transplant. All children and young people will only be getting the Pfizer vaccine.
A new study from Oxford and the Office of National Statistics (ONS) on PCR tests from more than 300,000 volunteers was published last week. The study looked at how immunity decreases over time after getting both jabs. They found that two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine initially gave more than 90% protection against Covid protection. For the Oxford-Astra Zeneca (AZN) jab this was just over 70%. Over three months the protection given by the Pfizer jab falls significantly whereas that of the AZN reduced also but much less. This is not alarming as it sounds as Pfizer starts off from a high level. The researchers concluded that both vaccines will give similar but very effective protection at around 5 months but it's worth emphasizing that both give excellent protection against severe disease and hospitalisation. Longer term protection of the vaccines still needs further work. The study also showed that double vaccinated people can carry the same number of viruses if they get infected with delta as unvaccinated people. What this means is that they can pass on the infection to other people. So if you get a Covid infection you need to take extra precautions to stop infecting other people even if you are double vaccinated.
Third booster doses for the over 50s are being planned from September. However, government advisors from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are yet to confirm the next phase of the vaccination programme. They feel that instead of a catch-all booster programme that these particular jabs should be targeted to only those that need a booster. So the very elderly and vulnerable would have the jab but how do you decide on the rest of the population over 50? Looking for low antibody levels (a blood test) will be time consuming on a large scale. However, the government have just announced that from Tuesday 24th August anyone over the age of 18 will be able to opt in to have an antibody test. Up to 8,000 participants will then be sent two finger prick tests. The first must be taken as soon as possible after a positive PCR test and the second 28 days later to allow the body to generate antibodies. The main purpose of this testing is to see whether antibodies protect against other variants of coronavirus. Such testing may also allow us to see what groups of people do not develop an immune response. A similar system could possibly be used in the future to target people who need a booster. Israel is already giving boosters to the over 50s to try and curb a huge recent spike in infections - nearly 7,500 per day, almost double what it was 2 weeks ago. Most other wealthy countries are planning to offer boosters also. The most likely scenario is that the UK booster programme will start in September.
Long Covid is a problem that is affecting thousands of people in this country including many children and millions worldwide. New studies seem to indicate that patients with this syndrome have higher markers for blood clotting which may help explain their persistent symptoms of fatigue and reduced physical fitness. These clotting markers are high in patients who need hospital treatment with severe Covid. However, they are also raised in patients who are able to manage their symptoms at home. As people recover the inflammation markers gradually reduce but in some, the clotting markers remain elevated. This suggests that the clotting system is one of the root causes involved in Long Covid. Understanding this will help scientists and doctors to develop effective therapies.
Now something non covid related but very important. Bowel cancer. 1 in 20 people will get this in their lifetime. NHS bowel screening is being offered but at the moment only just over 60% take this up in our area. If you are 55yrs you will be invited for a one-off ‘bowel- scope’ which involves a camera up the back passage. If you are 60-74yrs you will automatically be invited to do a home test every 2 years. Please watch out for this information through the post and please do go for your bowel screening or submit a home stool test. It might save your life. If you are over 75 yrs then you can ask for a home testing kit every 2 years by calling the bowel screening helpline on 0800 707 6060.
At any age please don't ignore symptoms such as persistent abdominal pain, chest pain, shortness of breath, abnormal bleeding, weight loss, odd skin blemishes. If in doubt - please give us a call or 111.
Stay Safe Everyone
Bye for now
Dr M Tanvir Jamil
Senior Partner
Burnham Health Centre
