Find out how you can share your Covid-19 story with the COVID-19 Inquiry
You may be aware that the formal public inquiry into Covid-19 is now well underway. The inquiry is examining the UK’s response to the pandemic and what lessons can be learned to assist the handling of future pandemics.
Various politicians, NHS officials and representatives of patient groups have already submitted evidence.
The inquiry team recognises that the pandemic affected every single person in the UK and, in many cases, continues to have a lasting impact on lives. They have therefore set up an online portal called Every Story Matters, so that everyone has an opportunity to ‘share the impact’ it [the pandemic] had on you, and your life, with the Inquiry.
The Inquiry team promises that “Every story shared with us will be used to shape the Inquiry’s investigations and help us to learn lessons for the future”. All the stories will be treated as anonymous when it comes to reporting the findings.
For more information on how to share your story, visit the inquiry website at www.covid19.public-inquiry.uk and click on the ‘Every Story Matters’ link.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, community pharmacies demonstrated great resilience under enormous strain. They maintained the core service of supplying medicines and providing expert medicines advice about common illnesses and long-term medical conditions. 98% of community pharmacies also reported increased enquiries about serious health conditions during the pandemic. 89% of adults believed pharmacies played an important role during Covid-19, according to a YouGov poll commissioned by the National Pharmacy Association.
Am I eligible for a COVID vaccine this winter?
The UK COVID-19 vaccination programme is now entering its third autumn season. Vaccination helps to protect against severe illness, hospitalisations and deaths from COVID-19.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s updated advice for this autumn is to offer the vaccine to those at high risk of serious disease and who are therefore most likely to benefit from vaccination.
Specifically, JCVI advises the following groups be offered a COVID-19 booster vaccine this autumn:
✚ residents in a care home for older adults
✚ all adults aged 65 years and over
✚ persons aged 6 months to 64 years in a clinical risk group, as laid out in the Immunisation Green Book, COVID-19 chapter (Green Book)
✚ frontline health and social care workers
✚ persons aged 12 to 64 years who are household contacts (as defined in the Green Book) of people with immunosuppression
✚ persons aged 16 to 64 years who are carers (as defined in the Green Book) and staff working in care homes for older adults
Visit www.gov.uk/government/news to read the full advisory and to check if you are among the groups being offered a COVID-19 booster.
