Devon Work Hubs network expanded 

Devon's network of Work Hubs is expanding, helping to stimulate coastal and rural economies hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

Three new hubs have opened in Great Torrington, Newton Abbot and Teignmouth, and an existing hub in Tavistock has now been extended. A further two hubs are due to open in Ilfracombe and High Bickington in coming months.

Work hubs are spaces where self-employed freelancers and small businesses can flexibly use modern facilities including meeting rooms, hot desks, and office spaces.

One business owner recently described the work hub opportunity as a 'godsend'. 

South Devon-based Rest Assured Properties were looking for new office space, as their business outgrew their working from home office arrangements. The holiday letting service has gone from strength to strength, providing holiday makers first class accommodation, and homeowners the assurance that their home is being cared for.

With new booking software, allowing clients to book holiday accommodation online, decent WiFi was essential.

"The internet, where we live, is shocking - always dropping off and things were taking two to three times the amount of time they should have been," said owner, Patsy Tucker.

They moved to a work hub office at The New Mills Business Park, and use it to run their holiday letting business and their associated laundry business, South Hams Laundry.

"A perfect location. Great WiFi. Friendly staff. Very fair pricing structure along with opportunity to meet other like-minded small business owners. We use the new office for all our administration - no more spinning wheels! No more flashing red WiFi hubs!"

For more information visit please visit the Devon Work Hubs website.

 

COVID-19 vaccination to be offered to all children aged 5 to 11 years old in England 

The Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, this week accepted the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI)’s advice to open up the offer of COVID-19 vaccines to all children aged 5 to 11 years old in England. 

Until now, only children of that age who are clinically vulnerable have been offered the jab. 

The JCVI advice follows a review by independent medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which has approved the Pfizer paediatric vaccine as safe and effective for children aged 5 to 11. 

The Health Secretary said that children without underlying health conditions are at low risk of serious illness from COVID-19, and that the priority remains for the NHS to offer vaccines and boosters to adults and vulnerable young people.

The NHS will now prepare to make this latest 'non-urgent' offer to all children during April. Parents and carers will be asked to give their consent. 

New Omicron-specific vaccine begins trial 

A new medical trial begins this week of an Omicron-specific coronavirus vaccine. It's the first trial of its kind in the world, and is a collaboration between the biotech company Moderna, and the National Institute for Health Research. 

The study, based at St George's, University of London, will see nearly 3,000 people receive a first or second booster. 

Half of the volunteers will receive a Moderna Omicron variant vaccine, and the rest will receive the standard Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. 

The study is recruiting for the next four weeks. Participants, aged over 16 years old, will need to have not tested positive for COVID-19 since the beginning of November 2021, and had their last vaccine at least three months prior to joining the study. The study is taking place at up to 29 research sites across England, Wales and Scotland, with the trial lasting up to 13 months. 

To find out if you are eligible to join the study, visit the study's website. 

New research reinforces the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines 

The latest finding from the SIREN study further reinforce the effectiveness of vaccines in preventing infection, even in people who have already had coronavirus. 

The study is the world's largest into COVID-19 antibodies, and regularly tests a large cohort of healthcare workers. 

Their latest paper explains that unvaccinated participants, who have previously had coronavirus, had 86 per cent reduced risk of reinfection, which waned to 69 per cent after a year. 

However, dual protection in people who had previously had coronavirus and were subsequently double vaccinated, was even greater and more durable. They were found to have over 90 per cent protection after two doses, which remained strong over a year after infection. 

SIREN's study lead and Chief Medical Advisor at the UK Health Security Agency, Susan Hopkins, said: 

"This research demonstrates why it is crucial to get vaccinated, as it provides a significantly greater level of protection against infection from COVID-19, whether or not you have been previously infected." 

She added, "To avoid infection and illness, it is vital that everyone eligible takes up the offer of a booster as soon as it is offered." 

Vaccine proven to reduce risk of long COVID 

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has drawn together data from 15 UK and international studies, and concluded that vaccination against coronavirus reduces the risk of developing long COVID. 

The UKHSA found that as well as helping to prevent vaccinated people from catching the virus, those that did catch it are less likely to develop long COVID if they have received one or two doses of vaccine compared with  unvaccinated people. 

Fully vaccinated people were less likely than unvaccinated people to develop medium or long-term symptoms such as fatigue, headache, weakness in the arms and legs, persistent muscle pain, hair loss, dizziness, shortness of breath, loss of smell or scarring of the lungs. 

An estimated two per cent of the UK population have reported symptoms of long COVID or post-COVID syndrome, which can last for more than four weeks after their initial infection.