Minutes:
Question
What steps is the Council taking to protect our older and our BAME residents who are both statistically at much higher risk from Covid-19 during this current second spike of the pandemic, BAME people currently make up 16.4% of WBC residents, and in particular, will we be helping to publicise the importance of Vitamin D for older and BAME people?
Many medical professionals are concerned that there may be a link between vitamin D deficiency and higher rates of Covid mortality as a deficiency affects your ability to fight infection. While research is still underway, the problems with vitamin D deficiency are so well known that before the pandemic, NHS guidance suggested that BAME Brits should 'consider' taking vitamin D supplements year round (and white Brits to consider a supplement Oct to March). Care home residents have a particularly high risk of vitamin D deficiency.
Publicising this simple step which local residents can take to safeguard their health could be very quick and cost effective.
Answer:
The protection of our residents vulnerable to Covid infection, including older residents and BAME residents is a priority for WBC.
In addition to the extensive work we have undertaken with the care homes via the Care Homes Task Force we continue to work really closely with the voluntary sector within Wokingham and have extended funding to continue our one front door service until March 20121, as I am sure you have seen. This is run by CAB Wokingham, they are taking calls and emails from residents and putting them in contact with any people and organisations that they need. This includes prescription collections or shopping service but also helps with a range of other Covid related effects such as debt advice, job loss, benefit advice as well as important support for mental health and wellbeing. The Wokingham Borough Community Response is an additional support service to the NHS and social services.
We are working with CAB Wokingham, First Days, the LINK Visiting Scheme, Involve Community Services and the Wokingham Volunteer Centre, as well as our Town and Parish Councils, Age UK, Churches Together and other churches and voluntary organisations across the Borough.
In August, the Council launched ‘Tackling Racism Matters’ which is an online survey providing an anonymous platform for both the wider community and staff to share opportunities to tackle racial inequalities (which affect risk of Covid infections and deaths) in Wokingham. In addition, the Council has launched the Covid impact survey to understand how Covid has affected BAME groups during lockdown. The findings from this survey will continue to inform our response going forward and will obviously effect how we behave.
Working with the Public health team, WBC are cascading tailored health promotion (as developed by Public Health England) to inform specific ethnic groups about minimising their risk to Covid transmission and mortality. The promotion materials have been adapted into different languages.
The NHS test and trace system has been designed to ensure that anyone who develops the symptoms of Covid 19 can quickly be tested to find out if they have the virus, and the service also includes targeted asymptomatic testing of NHS staff, social care staff and care home residents. The test and trace service is an equal-access service that does not discriminate on the basis of age, ethnicity or religious beliefs. You will be aware of course of the recent decision of the Council to procure some tests of its own, testing for emergency use.
In June 2020, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published an appraisal of the evidence relating to vitamin D in the prevention of Covid. This study states that “there is no evidence to support taking vitamin D supplements to specifically prevent or treat Covid-19. However, all people should continue to follow UK Government advice on daily vitamin D supplementation to maintain bone and muscle health during the pandemic”. The UK Government advise that all people should consider taking a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms of vitamin D during autumn and winter months. They also advise that people whose skin has little to no exposure to sunlight and ethnic minority groups with dark skin, from African, Afro-Caribbean and South Asian backgrounds, should consider taking a vitamin D supplement all year round.
Since there is no evidence to support taking vitamin D supplementation to prevent Covid there are no plans to promote the importance of vitamin D with regard to Covid. However, we will keep this fully under review and keep our eyes open for any new evidence that should come to light. If we see anything on these lines, we will of course review that position. As with everything in relation to this pandemic our position is that we are taking the best advice, listening to what is going on, and making the best judgment we can, and just keep moving forwards as things develop.
Supplementary Question
To protect the NHS and care services, free flu vaccinations are available for older residents, and now to shielding residents, care home staff and their families. There are already some worrying signs that there will not be enough vaccinations available for those who want them, with some local providers having no vaccine in stock. Do we believe that there will be enough flu vaccinations available this year and how will we handle any shortfall?
Answer
The CCG and wider BOB flu team are in wider contact with the NHS and Public Health to monitor and oversee the successful supply and provision of flub jab services for patients across Berkshire West. So far, we have not had any issues or delays reported to us re the delivery of pre orders to practices. We anticipate further guidance and advice this week from NHSE, explaining how our practices can order nationally procured vaccines. The getting of this stock is vital to ensuring our practices can further achieve the national vaccination targets, set by NHSE, and meet the additional patient demand that we have seen this year.
Pharmacies will also have access to ordering from the NHSE stock in a few weeks. All I will say is that I know from sitting in other meetings of this Board, that stock was ordered in January before, for the winter. But obviously stock ordered in January 2020 was before the pandemic hit.
Katie Summers:
That response is exactly what we would say as well from Charles regarding the flu. We have not necessarily seen anything at all that is a supply issue at all, at the moment. Actually, we keep on getting general updates directly. We are working very, very closely with the local Public Health teams, as Charles said. We are very much on top of things.
The only comment I was going to supply for the vitamin D piece is that Charles is very, very right. We will actually take a decision when anything physically changes, and one thing that we have in the health service, we have what is known as a Thames Valley Priorities Committee and they respond so, so quickly to the latest evidence. That Priorities Committee, if there is anything that changes relating to the BAME community, they will act on it straight away and there will be policy that goes out across all clinicians to give them the guidance. That is just backing up what Charles was saying about the vitamin D.
Councillor Rachel-Bishop Firth:
I personally have been unable to book for a flu jab vaccination. I spoke to the pharmacy at one of the local supermarkets who said that they did not know when the stock would be coming in.
Katie Summers:
This is the ongoing thing. They are prioritising certain areas and certain groups at the moment. It might be the fact that, Rachel, you look very, very young, and it might be to do with that factor as well. So please do not worry about it. Have you been contacted by your GP practice yet? That might be the reason why then. What they are doing are, they are doing almost like a wave of individuals, so you are probably not in that wave at the moment, so that is the reason why. Please be reassured that it is going to be rolled out. What they are having to do is get the stock in and then they have to do certain waves at certain points, and that is the process that we take forwards.