Get your Covid-19 vaccination now to avoid disappointment when travelling at Easter, urges Stockport Director of Public Health

Stockport’s Director of Public Health, Jennifer Connolly, is encouraging residents who have still to have their first or second Covid-19 vaccination to come forward to make sure they don’t miss out on planned holidays this Easter break.

Very few countries allow unrestricted access to those who have not been vaccinated, so the best way to ensure you are able to travel is by getting jabbed or boosted. Digital Covid passes to prove your vaccination status to authorities overseas can be accessed through the NHS app that can be downloaded to your mobile phone. Since 3 February, 12 to 15-year-olds in England have also been able to prove their vaccination status via the digital NHS pass; many countries also require any children in your party to be vaccinated too.

You also need to check what regional, as well as national, restrictions are in place at your destination, as some areas such as the Balearic Islands and Canary Islands have differing rules from mainland Spain.

Some nations require a lead in period of 14 days after a second vaccination or booster to prove fully vaccinated status, or others may impose maximum time periods since your last vaccination, so now’s the time to get vaccinated before the Easter holidays.

Anyone not yet fully vaccinated is encouraged to book their vaccination via the national booking system online, or by calling 119. Full details of places to get a vaccination in Stockport, including many options available without prior booking, are on the CCG website. You can also use the walk-in clinic at Trinity Methodist Church, 351 Bramhall Lane, SK3 8TP, from 8am to 6pm, 7 days a week.

Jennifer Connolly also used her weekly statement to comment on rising Covid-19 rates in the borough. She said:

“There has been a rise in rates this week in Stockport and cases are currently at 388.2* per 100,000 population: around 162.7 people per day. See the latest published data online.

“So, please continue adapt your behaviour to reduce the risk of catching and passing on COVID-19 by:

• Getting vaccinated
• Letting fresh air in if meeting indoors, or meeting outside
• Wearing a face covering in crowded and enclosed spaces, especially where coming into contact with people they do not usually meet and when rates of transmission are high
• Trying to stay at home if unwell
• Taking a test if displaying COVID-19 symptoms, and staying at home and avoiding contact with other people if testing positive
• Washing hands and following advice to “Catch it, Bin it, Kill it”.

“The guidance on what you can do to keep yourself and others safe outlines these measures well.

“Remember if you do test positive for Covid, the best advice to help stem the spread is that you should still self-isolate for five days and beyond, until you have received two negative tests on consecutive days.

“Until 1 April free Lateral Flow Device and PCR testing for the general public are still available. LFD tests can be ordered online, or picked up at many local libraries, Stockport pharmacies and at Fred Perry House. From April, there will be some ongoing free testing for a small number of at-risk groups, which the government will outline later.

“If you’re finding the changes stressful as we move forward on this journey of living with COVID-19, it will be important to continue to look after our own wellbeing, not just physically, but also mentally and socially, and to look out for each other. The well-known 5 Ways to Wellbeing provide good pointers to help maintain our wellbeing in a balanced way. If you want to explore local offers including available support, please visit Healthy Stockport or our emotional wellbeing and mental health support pages; feel free to share these resources with others in your networks.

“Our vaccination programme in Stockport is still going well and, so far, 87.4% of those aged 18+ and 87% of those aged 16 plus have received their first dose. Also, 85.1% of those aged 18+ and 84.2% of those aged 16 plus have received their second dose. Also, 63.1% of healthy 12–15-year-olds have had a first dose and 36.8% have had their second dose. In addition, 71.2% of the adult population have had a booster dose and 69.6% of those aged 16 plus.“