Coronavirus: News from our partners – Surgeon who recovered from COVID-19 urges booster and flu jab take-up
News from our partners Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin Integrated Care System (ICS)
A respected clinician, who has recently recovered from COVID-19, is encouraging those who are eligible, living in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin, to get their booster dose and flu vaccination, ahead of the challenging winter months.
Sudheer Karlakki, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH), is stressing the importance of getting both COVID-19 booster and flu vaccines, after recently recovering from a debilitating bout of COVID-19.
Brendan O’Grady, nurse and COVID-19 vaccinator (left); pictured with Sudheer Karlakki, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at RJAH.
The plea comes as those eligible can now book their COVID-19 booster dose online if it’s been 5 months (152 days) since their second dose, for them to be offered appointment dates from six months (182 days) after the date of their second dose.
Sudheer said:-
“Speaking from my own experience of having COVID-19, I pretty was ill; the last time I was this ill was when I had Typhoid when I was nine years old. I probably avoided hospitalisation because I’d been vaccinated earlier on in the year and had antibodies in my blood, as I found out later.
“Both COVID-19 and the flu can be life-threatening, and having them together would be particular dangerous, which is why I’m strongly encouraging everyone to either get vaccinated against COVID-19 if they haven’t yet already – or if they’re eligible, to ensure they have their booster and flu jab. It’s the best way of protecting yourself and your family.”
Brendan O’Grady, nurse and COVID-19 vaccinator (left); pictured with Sudheer Karlakki, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at RJAH.
He has also been a COVID-19 vaccinator at the RJAH Vaccination Centre, and has filmed a video for social media, encouraging people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and flu, ahead of the winter. The video can be viewed here.
If you had your second COVID-19 vaccination at least 6 months (or a minimum of 182 days) ago, you are eligible for a booster, and you can walk-in for a COVID-19 booster (without a letter, text or email from the NHS), you can book an appointment via the via the National Booking Service or by calling NHS 119. Alternatively, if you prefer to be vaccinated at your GP surgery or primary care network (PCN) please wait to be contacted.
Those who are eligible for their COVID-19 booster dose include:-
- those living in residential care homes for older adults
- all adults aged 50 years or over
- frontline health and social care workers
- all those aged 16 to 49 years with underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk of severe COVID-19 (as set out in the green book), and adult carers
- adult household contacts of immunosuppressed individuals.
Steve Ellis, Service Director and Deputy Senior Responsible Officer for the COVID-19 Vaccination Service in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, said:-
“I echo Sudheer Karlakki’s comments. I would urge anyone who is eligible for a booster to get it as soon as possible, ahead of winter to protect themselves and those around them. It is quick, effective and provides really important protection against the virus.”
Last week a Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) spokesperson commented on why we need boosters to increase our protection. They said:-
“The latest evidence from SAGE shows that protection against symptomatic disease falls from 65%, up to three months after the second dose, to 45% six months after the second dose for the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, and from 90% to 65% for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Protection against hospitalisation falls from 95% to 75% for Oxford/AstraZeneca and 99% to 90% for Pfizer/BioNTech.
“Although the vaccine efficacy against severe disease remains high, it should be noted that a small change can generate a major shift in hospital admissions (eg a change from 95% to 90% against hospitalisation would lead to doubling of admissions in those vaccinated).”
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) says 1.2m people had COVID-19 in England in late October 2021 – one in 50 of us – which is the highest prevalence measured. The rate of infection in the vaccinated population is only a quarter of the rate in the unvaccinated population.
The vaccination has had a significant impact in lowering the risk of serious illness and the need for hospitalisation.
Details of the walk-in clinics available in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin can be found here: COVID-19 vaccination walk-in clinic times (stwics.org.uk) Please keep checking back as new sites, dates and times are being added all the time.
