Mark Adams, Director of Public Heath (South Tees) will be in attendance to provide an update on COVID-19 and the local Public Health / NHS response.
Minutes:
The Director of Public Heath for South Tees provided the
Panel with an update on latest Covid-19 situation. The Panel were advised that
the information presented only touched on the impact of the Omicron Variant.
Middlesbroughâs infection rate per 100,000 stood at 316
placing it 135th in England. Ultimately, while rates were high they were not as
high as other parts of the country. Community transmission was also quite
stable.
When examined by age range the 40-44 year old and the 10-14
age groups saw increases. However, these were not as high as they had been in
October. Public Health had contacted schools recommending the implementation of
wearing face coverings in communal areas and other measures that could help
reduce infection.
In specific cases where infections were high in schools the
Public Health team worked with those schools to issue letters to parents.
Hospital rates were in the 50s for South Tees with seven
people in critical care which was a consistent trend. This was in contrast to
over 200 inpatients in January 2021. However, it was the noted that while the
vaccine programme had assisted with this decrease the hospital system remained
under strain.
Mortality rates were also improved on previous waves.
In terms of vaccination rates; 75% of people had received a
first does of the vaccine with just under 67% having both doses. As with
previous updates vaccine take up rates began to decline when examining younger
age groups.
There were still areas of the town that had low take up
rates of the vaccine which were likely to suffer disproportionately from
Covid-19 infections. Public Health were continuing to work to improve this
situation.
With regard to the Omicron Variant; initial data suggested it
was more infectious than the Delta Variant, which itself was more infection
than the Alpha Variant. There was also some evidence from South Africa that
there was a greater reinfection rate. However, there was also initial evidence
to suggest that the vaccine provided protection against severe illness.
It was, nevertheless, difficult to translate the South
African experience into the UK experience. Based on this information, however,
all adults over the age of 18 would be provided the opportunity for the vaccine
booster although there was some confused messaging around this.
Government advice had been released about increasing
capacity around Primary Care and community pharmacy sites.
It was confirmed that there were no cases in the Tees Valley
but given the rising numbers nationally this would be an inevitability.
The Chair queried if Middlesbrough would follow other areas
in seeing Omicron cases as it had with other variants. It was clarified that
the spread of Omicron would be random depending on contacts. One of the only
ways to limit such a spread would be an intensive contact trace regime and
encouraging isolation periods.
A Member sought clarification on the strategies being used
to encourage people to get the vaccine. It was clarified where vaccines were
taken to communities there was, generally, good take up rates with pop up sites
continuing as a result. It was noted that targeted communications required
navigating Data Protection issues, but general communication and work with
community champions continued. This allowed conversations that could help
reduce concerns over the vaccine. The Member commented there had been a
successful vaccine take up programme via the Community Hubs which brought
vaccination sites within close reach of communities.
A Member queried what could be done to encourage more people
to wear face coverings in appropriate settings. It was clarified that while
work was being undertaken by the Council in terms of messaging and application,
any enforcement action was the responsibility of the police.
The Chair thanked the Director of Public Health for his
update.
ORDERED: that the
information presented be noted.