Prof Mike Holmes, who runs York’s Covid vaccination centre at Askham Bar, tells how staff and volunteers are working flat out to protect residents after the emergence of the Omicron variant

THE emergence of the South African, or Omicron, variant of Covid-19 has highlighted the need for people to take up the offer of a booster at the earliest opportunity. The more a virus spreads, the more chance it has to mutate. There have already been thousands of small changes in Covid-19 but, thankfully, most have had little impact so far. However, every so often a virus changes in a way that helps it to survive. The reason scientists are concerned about this particular variant is due to mutations in the way it enters our body’s cells, which might make it possible for it to spread more quickly.

In addition to the international travel restrictions that were introduced towards the end of last week to try to restrict the spread of this new variant, the British Government’s announcement at the weekend that face masks must, once again, be worn in shops and on public transport will have come as no surprise to many of us, particularly given that many European nations had already imposed restrictions.

With much for us still to learn about this new variant, not to mention the fact that Christmas is just around the corner and the NHS is already under great strain, our teams have been trying ensure those who are eligible for a booster jab can get one as quickly as possible. This week we’re aiming to vaccinate another 10,000 people, having made thousands of additional appointments available via the NHS booking system (https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/book-coronavirus-vaccination/). Anyone eligible for a booster does not need to wait to be invited, they can simply go ahead and book themselves in at the earliest opportunity. If unsure, you can check your eligibility via the website.

Yesterday, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) made a series of recommendations on how the booster programme should be expanded to include everyone over the age of 18, and, over the coming days, NHS England will set out how this should be done.

On Saturday, we staged a clinic at the University of York to try to reach the international student population who have not had a vaccination since arriving in York to study, as well as any students due their second dose. Despite Storm Arwen’s best efforts to cause chaos, we managed to vaccination 350 people during the course of the day.

Our efforts to support School Immunisation teams with the roll out of the vaccination programme to 12 to 15-year-olds across North Yorkshire continues to progress at pace, although the rural locations of some of the schools our teams are visiting has proved to be a logistical challenge at times. We’ve vaccinated more than 6,500 12 to 15-year-olds at the York Vaccination Centre and a further 2,500 in schools across the region. We’re also making more after school appointments available at the York Vaccination Centre for people in this age group who have not yet had opportunity to ‘grab a jab’.

In recent weeks, our hard-working teams have also delivered more than 9,000 flu vaccinations and carried out more than 150 appointments with local people as part of the NHS Health Check Service that we’re running to help spot the early signs of stroke, kidney disease, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and dementia. These clinics take place at venues across the city, as well as at the Vaccination Centre at Askham Bar.

Last week, a number of our employees, from all levels within the organisation, and volunteers had the honour of representing Nimbuscare at the Health Service Journal (HSJ) Awards in London. We were thrilled to be shortlisted finalists in the ‘Community Provider of the Year’ category and, although we didn’t win on the night, we’re still incredibly proud to be considered one of the best community healthcare providers in the country. It’s a huge achievement, particularly for such a young but rapidly growing organisation like Nimbuscare, which is made up of 11 GP practices across York. Perhaps even more importantly, it was welcome recognition for our innovative, collaborative and sustainable way of delivering healthcare services.