Coronavirus causes a new illness (COVID-19) that mainly affects your lungs and airways.
Symptoms in most people will be mild – a high temperature or new continuous cough, or loss of sense of smell or taste. Some people will also have difficulty with breathing (shortness of breath). A few people with COVID-19 will get severe symptoms and need medical attention. Older people and those with a long-term health condition (for example, lung disease, heart failure, diabetes) or a weakened immune system (for example, because of HIV or chemotherapy) are more likely to get worse symptoms. These are people who are offered the regular flu jab every year in the autumn.
The higher-risk groups for severe coronavirus illness include almost everyone with dementia, and many older family carers.
Captain Sir Tom Moore, who raised over £32m for NHS charities by walking a hundred laps of his garden in Bedfordshire, has died in hospital after testing positive for COVID-19.
The 100-year-old, who was knighted for his fundraising efforts by the Queen last year, brought hope to people during lockdown.
He had been unable to have the Covid vaccine as he had been struggling with pneumonia over the past few weeks. On Sunday he was admitted to Bedford Hospital as he needed help with his breathing.
In a statement, Capt Sir Tom’s daughters, Hannah Ingram-Moore and Lucy Teixeira said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our dear father, Captain Sir Tom Moore.
To read the full story visit the homecare.co.uk website.
The Department for Health and Social Care has written to local authorities, care providers and directors of adult social services in England providing details on how all frontline social care workers will be contacted to receive their offer of vaccine by mid-February.
In her letter written by the care minister, Helen Whateley expresses her concern that ‘the social care sector is even more diverse than healthcare’ with a large number of different private companies and individual service users being used in the care sector.
In recognition of this, the department has produced a standard operating procedure (SOP), which provides detail on how community-based social care workers in JCVI priority group 2 will receive a vaccine.
This is to ensure all frontline workers who have close personal contact with those who are clinically vulnerable to COVID-19 are vaccinated by 15 February.
For more information visit the homecare.co.uk website
