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 as of 7 April 2021 (data reported up to 4 April 2021).
Next step on the roadmap out of lockdown
 On Monday:
- Non-essential shops, personal care businesses, public buildings and most outdoor attractions can reopen
- Gyms, swimming pools and indoor leisure facilities will also reopen for use by people on their own or with their household
- Restaurants, pubs and other hospitality venues can serve seated customers outdoors
- Self-contained holiday accommodation and campsites can open for one household
- Funerals can have up to 30 attendees and weddings, receptions and wakes can have up to 15
- No indoor mixing between households
We must stay vigilant to prevent a third wave
On Monday we take another step on the roadmap out of lockdown but scientists predict that the UK may yet have a third wave of infection from more contagious virus variants.
The UK, despite our vaccine programme progress, is still in a very precarious position. More than 31m people have now been vaccinated and it is estimated that 6,000 lives have been saved as a result. However, four and a half million adults in the top priority groups have yet to have a vaccine and 21 million under 50s are unprotected. Around 14,000 people under the age of 50 have been hospitalised and there have been around 400 deaths in that age group.
If infection rates rise, the virus will come into contact with those who are unvaccinated or for whom the vaccine has not worked.
Professor Mark Woolhouse of Edinburgh University says ‘While the vaccines are good – they significantly reduce the risk of falling ill and for those who do develop symptoms there is strong likelihood it will be a fairly mild illness, but they are not 100% perfect. There could still be significant numbers of deaths, even if the threat to the NHS is much reduced.’
Those who are vaccinated will slow the spread. Early evidence suggests that the AstraZeneca vaccine could stop two-thirds of people who are vaccinated from passing it on. Also, about a quarter of the population who have already been infected will have some immunity. Respiratory viruses tend to thrive in the winter but are less likely to spread in the spring and summer.
Astra-Zeneca vaccination update
 Under-30s in the UK are to be offered an alternative vaccine to the AstraZeneca vaccination due to an extremely small number of cases of rare blood clots among people who have been vaccinated. One example used is that the risk of dying from a blood clot following vaccination by Astra-Zeneca is about one in a million.
The World Health Organization said the link between the vaccine and blood clots was "plausible" but not confirmed, adding that the clotting incidents were "very rare" among nearly 200 million people who have received the jab worldwide.
Why have under 30s been offered alternative vaccines?
It relates to the balance of risk for younger people dying from COVID-19 and any potential side effects of the vaccine. For older people the balance of risk of becoming severely ill through COVID-19 is significantly higher than the possible side effects of the vaccine.
I’ve had my first vaccine should I have my second dose?
Yes, the blood clots were seen within 20 days of the first dose.
Would taking aspirin before my vaccine help against a blood clot?
No, aspirin is useful for a different type of blood clot. In fact aspirin has a higher risk of complications than the vaccine.
Should I be worried about a one-in-a-million risk?
No medical treatment or vaccine is risk free. For example being on the contraceptive pill carries a 0.6% risk of a blood clot compared to the AZ vaccine risk of 0.00017%.
Covid kills one in eight people who are infected over the age of 75, and one in 1,000 infected in their 40s. To put it into context: Travelling 250 miles in a car also carries with it a one-in-a-million chance of dying in an accident.
New Moderna vaccine
The roll out of the Moderna vaccine started in Wales on Wednesday. The UK has purchased 17 million doses.
This vaccine, developed in the USA, is a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine which uses the virus's genetic code. It uses the same technology as the Pfizer BioNtech vaccine.
An mRNA vaccine enters cells and triggers them to create antigens. These antigens are recognised by the immune system and prepare it to fight coronavirus. No actual virus is needed to create an mRNA vaccine. This means the rate at which the vaccine can be produced is accelerated. It has been tested on 300,000 people and the results suggest 100% efficacy.
Free Tests
 Local people can now collect up to 14 free rapid tests (called lateral flow tests) from Central MK Library, currently being used as a test centre, to use at home. There’s no need to book, register or even show ID to pick up your tests.
MK council is making the whole process as contact free as possible; just turn up and ask a member of staff for the tests. Staff will be positioned at the main entrance during opening hours to take requests. Parking is free at the front of the building for people briefly stopping to collect or take a test.
The centre is open weekdays from 9.30am-4.30pm with late opening until 7pm on Thursdays.
You can also visit the centre for a free on-site rapid test.
No-one with symptoms will be tested at this site. Anyone with one or more of these symptoms – a high temperature, a new, continuous cough, or a loss or change to sense of smell or taste – should book a test at nhs.uk/coronavirus or by calling 119.
Long Covid
 For some people, coronavirus can cause symptoms that last weeks or months after the infection has gone. This is sometimes called Long Covid and it’s estimated more than a million people are currently suffering. There are moves to have Long Covid recognised as a disability.
The chances of having long-term symptoms does not seem to be linked to how ill you are when you first get the virus.
Of those who were working before they became ill, around a fifth no longer work and another fifth have had to adapt how they work.
Symptom Study App
Researchers analysed data on people who reported their symptoms of Long Covid on a COVID Symptom Study app (available to download from Apple Store and Google Play) and identified two main groups of symptoms – respiratory and heart issues.
You can find out more about Long Covid here.
MK libraries reopening from Tuesday
 We're getting ready to reopen MK's libraries with COVID-19 safety arrangements on Tuesday 13 April.
The Central Library is currently MK's rapid test centre and will reopen as a library at a later date.
When you visit a library in MK, you will be asked to provide contact details to assist with NHS Test and Trace or to scan the QR code. Your entry and departure times will be recorded. Please ensure that you sign out with the team member at the door as you leave.
- Where possible we ask that you visit the library alone
- Please do not visit if you feel unwell or are self-isolating
- We ask that you keep browsing time to a minimum
Find out more here.
#RestartMK
Do you run a local business? Please get in touch with MK Council and you could win a free advert in our magazine for residents which will be delivered to homes around MK in June.
To support businesses reopening we’re running a campaign encouraging local people to support local retailers, businesses and makers around MK, highlighting the personal touch that independent businesses are so good at providing.
Find out more here
Shopping and spending locally has big implications for the success of an area. Experts calculate that for every pound spent with a local business, around 60p makes it back into the local economy. Spending locally helps other MK firms flourish, creating more opportunities and jobs, and allowing other firms to prosper.
NewFutures:MK
Are you:
- Living in Milton Keynes
- Aged over 16 years
- Unemployed
- At risk of redundancy
- Not in education
- Working part-time but would like to work more
- Perhaps your employment has been affected by COVID-19
* This is not an exhaustive list and training will be recommended based on individual needs.
MK College has joined forces with Milton Keynes Council to support Milton Keynes residents who need help finding work. You can find out more at www.mkcollege.ac.uk/newfuturesmk.
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Volunteering Matters
 Email miltonkeynes@volunteeringmatters.org.uk.
Useful mental health contacts
- Milton Keynes Talking Therapies 01908 725099
- Mind BLMK 0300 330 0648
- YiS Young People’s Mental Health (for young people aged 11-21) 01908 604700
- Samaritans 116 123 (for emergency support)
Elections 2021
 There are Police and Crime Commissioner, Borough Council and Parish Elections scheduled for Thursday 6 May 2021. We want to make sure everybody is registered and can vote safely.
The choice on how to vote at next May’s elections is yours, you can have your say by post, in person, or by proxy. If you’re worried about going to a polling station you can apply for a postal vote.
Nominations opened for prospective candidates
On Wed 24 March, nominations opened for prospective candidates for Borough and Parish elections in May. For more information, visit milton-keynes.gov.uk/elections-2021. To make an appointment to submit nomination papers, please email elections@milton-keynes.gov.uk.
How do I get more information?
You can visit our website at www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/elections.
Reporting concerns
One of the ways you can help is by reporting serious concerns about workplaces and other facilities where social distancing and other measures aren’t being followed. Intelligence like this can help us to track and control virus transmission.
Please tell us when the breach of restrictions took place, and a full address of the site if known. Your details will not be shared with the person or place you are telling us about.
You can write to us at COVIDconcern@milton-keynes.gov.uk.
We may not reply to all messages but we will read them all, and they’ll be used to gather intelligence so we can take action where needed.
Useful links
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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