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.
The next newsletter will be on 11 June.
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 26 May 2021 (data reported up to 23 May 2021).
Vaccine update
 We were celebrating brilliant partnership working between MK Council and the NHS this week as we reached the 35,000th COVID-19 vaccination given at the Saxon Court in MK. Please come forward for yours when it’s your turn.
People aged 30 and over can book online or call the national booking service on 119.
The vaccines require two doses to provide the best protection and the second should be offered within 12 weeks of the first. However, people over 50 and those with severe underlying health conditions which put them at high risk will now receive their second dose after eight weeks because of concerns over the spread of a new and more transmissible variant.
There is growing evidence that two doses of the current vaccines give good protection against this and other variants of concern, particularly against hospitalisation and death. However, the vaccine does not provide 100% protection and we need to continue to protect older and more vulnerable people.
 Thank you to our Champions and Public Health colleagues who were in Wolverton this week talking to residents and encouraging them to have the vaccine.
Vaccine Drop-in Sessions
This weekend drop-in COVID-19 vaccination sessions are available for people aged 40 and over who have not yet made an appointment.
Anyone aged 40 and over can go to Saxon Court, CMK without the need for an appointment to receive their first or second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine– making it even easier to get protected against COVID-19.
Those people who already have a booked appointment at a vaccination centre, GP-led site or pharmacy should still attend their appointment as planned.
The opening times are: 8.30am – 3.00pm on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 May.
Free home tests
 Lateral flow tests can still be taken at the test centre in MK’s Central Library – from 1 June its opening times are changing. From then it will be open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9.30am – 4.30pm.
Home testing kits are still available to collect from the Central Library whenever the library is open, that’s Monday to Friday 9am -5.30pm and Saturday 9am - 4.30pm.
The Central Library is reopening on 1 June for browsing, study and computer use but with a reduced service. There will be a limit on the number of customers that can come in at any one time.
Mental health support
 Are you aged 11-25, live in Milton Keynes and are struggling with your mental health? You can access support from Kooth online at http://kooth.com
According to a survey by mental health charity Mind, 94% of people said spending time in green spaces for exercise or relaxation had a positive impact on their mental health.
Mind found that after a single walk in the countryside, 90 per cent of people had increased levels of self-esteem, with nearly three quarters reporting decreased levels of depression.
Milton Keynes has thousands of acres of parkland and green space you can visit for free. The Parks Trust, the charity who cares for much of this organises activities you can join, including (just in the next month) Walk and Talk for adults, Bat Walk at Linford Lakes, Willen Lake Discovery Stroll, and Caldecotte Lake Parks and Run. Find out more at www.theparkstrust.com/.
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.
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Let us know how we can improve: COVIDChampions@Milton-Keynes.gov.uk
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