When you get the call, get the jab

Figures from Public Health England show that Britain's historic vaccine programme has helped save 60,000 lives, and the government, NHS and health professionals continue to urge everyone, when you get the call, get the jab.

• Thanks to the continued success of this historic vaccine programme, the present wave of infections seems to be peaking and has not generated the level of hospitalisations and deaths which it previously would have. The majority of people in Cumbria's hospitals with COVID-19 now (late July) actually came into hospital for other conditions. Vaccination is protecting the most vulnerable, as we learn to live with the virus.
   
• Our vaccines have already helped prevent 22 million infections and 60,000 deaths, which is why we are encouraging everyone who has not already done so – including young people and pregnant women – to come forward and get the jab.
   
• Day by day, jab by jab, we are strengthening our defences against the virus and call on everyone to play their part in this historic effort.

• If you have any concerns about whether vaccination is right for you or your family, discuss them with your GP, midwife, or an appropriately qualified medical professional.

In memory of those we lost during the pandemic

This plaque and tree were placed at West Cumberland Hospital this week in memory of all those who have been lost during the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 vaccination now available to all adults in the UK

All adults in Britain have now been offered an approved COVID-19 vaccination.

Adults in England can book now by ringing 119 between 7am and 11pm seven days a week or online at

Book or manage your coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

The new health secretary on the need to deal with the backlog of cases

This quote from the new Health secretary highlights an urgent issue, both for the national NHS and our own health services here in Cumbria, that we need to focus on.

"As a fresh set of eyes coming in, the thing that shocked me most was the huge waiting list and the number of people that did not come forward because of the pandemic. 

We estimate there’s some seven million people that did not come forward to the NHS to be helped with things like cancer, with heart disease. Think about the deaths that have been sadly caused by that."

(Health secretary Sajid Javid speaking on Radio 4 on Tuesday of last week, source and comment in the Spectator here.)