Sharing these newsletters
To share this newsletter on social media sites such as Facebook, please visit our COVID-19 Community Champions website www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/covid-champions where you will find links to this update and previous ones at the bottom of the page. Just copy and paste the link.
Read the MK COVID-19 Champions Code of Conduct here.
COVID-19 Snapshot
 Click here to see and print the full COVID-19 snapshot from 18 Nov.
Ask public health
Do you have a question about COVID-19?
Send us your query to covidchampions@milton-keynes.gov.uk and we’ll put the most popular questions to our Deputy Director of Public Health in Milton Keynes Dr Oliver Mytton.
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Q: We've heard a lot about the possibility of an imminent vaccine and I know that there is a requirement for 2 doses - 3 weeks apart. My question is: How long does it take from the time I'm vaccinated until I have protection? How long before I have maximum protection?
A. Yes, as of 17 Nov. two companies (Pfizer and Moderna) have announced initial results of their trials which looks promising but more data of trials result have not been officially published. This requirement for 2 doses may be in relation to a particular type of COVID-19 vaccines. We do not know exactly the requirements for other types until it is published.
How long it takes until the person is protected, and have maximum protection will depend on the type of vaccine administered and also how strong your immune system is.
Currently, different vaccines trials data is still being collected however, Prof Beate Kampmann, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine said the following about Pfizer vaccines in relation to how long protection can last:
“The 90% effectiveness rate was calculated seven days after the second shot, but these results are likely to change as data is collected over the longer term. Generally, to ascertain how long protection lasts, follow up studies will be required to detect levels of both types of immune responses – antibody and T cell – as well any repeated exposure risks”.
So the answer is we don’t yet know exactly.
Vaccinations
News came this week of a third vaccination, this one from Oxford University and AstraZeneca.
Trials of the Oxford vaccine have shown a strong immune response in older people.
Two weeks after a second dose, more than 99% of trial participants appeared to be protected
The UK has ordered 100 million doses. Trials are still continuing, this may be the easiest of the three vaccines to distribute, because it does not need to be stored at very cold temperatures.
There are now three vaccinations which are at the final safety testing stage:
- Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine
- Moderna vaccine
- Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine
Each vaccination has different characteristics in terms of storage and effectiveness, see the details here.
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Milton Keynes Council’s Local Support Service
Our Local Support Service provides practical help to residents who are clinically extremely vulnerable and who have registered support needs through the National Shielding Service System.
There are an estimated 14,000 clinically extremely vulnerable people in Milton Keynes, who should register any support needs through the National Shielding Support System. Contact details are then passed to the council to be followed up.
Vulnerable residents needing support to self-isolate, who are unable to rely on the help of friends, neighbours or family can call us on 01908 252398. If you do have someone who can help you, please keep this helpline free for those who are struggling.
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Self Care Week
 This week has been Self Care week. Winter is usually a time where we see well-being suffer. Our mood might dip slightly, we might find it difficult to get motivated. So Arthur Ellis: Mental Health Support has teamed up with the MK Self Care Group to bring you a practical, easy way to bring us together to learn about the different elements of our well-being and what we can do throughout winter to make sure we keep onto of it to make sure we remain as well as possible.
They will be delivering a one-hour webinar on Sunday 22 Nov between 11:00 – 12:00 to promote the activity.
Please feel free to share the link with family, friends and colleagues. Anyone who does join the webinar will not be visible to other attendees so it's completely confidential.
Sign up for the webinar here (the webinar will be recorded and made available afterwards so don’t worry if you can’t make it).
Self Care and Community Information for Milton Keynes
Please some find some information that you may find helpful and/or wish to share here.
Could Social Prescribing work for you?
Age UK Milton Keynes is a local independent charity that is working with the 27 GP practices in Milton Keynes to provide vital support to people who might be feeling lonely or anxious. The charity’s Live Life MK is a Social Prescribing Service which helps people find a non-medical solution to worries and problems that are affecting their health.
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Live Life MK has carried on supporting clients throughout the coronavirus pandemic, mainly by telephone. The service is adapting to suit individual situations whilst ensuring that government guidelines are always followed
You can also contact Live Life MK directly, for yourself or on behalf of someone else if you have their permission, by calling 01908 973720 or text 07849 083 222.
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Useful links
We are in a national lockdown until Wednesday 2nd December. There is a Government poster with more information, you can view and share it here.
See the latest Government guidance here gov.uk/coronavirus.
Find COVID-19 Information from the NHS: www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
To print and share this, please click "view it as a web page" at the top of this bulletin. This will take you to a web page with the option to print this off at the top.
To share this newsletter on social media sites such as Facebook, please visit our COVID-19 Community Champions website www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/covid-champions where you will find links to this update and previous ones at the bottom of the page. Just copy and paste the link.
Your Feedback
Have you found this email useful?
Let us know how we can improve: CovidChampions@Milton-Keynes.gov.uk
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