No ‘silver bullet’ to Covid-19, warns Herts public health chief

Approval of a Covid-19 vaccine is NOT a ‘silver bullet’, Hertfordshire’s public health chief has warned.

Even as the vaccination programme is set to get underway, director of public health Jim McManus warns it will still take many months before vaccination has a massive impact on population immunity.

And that, he says, means measures to suppress the virus will be needed for some time.

Speaking at a meeting of the county’s Health and Wellbeing Board on Friday, December 4, he said there had been a recent decline in the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 on the county – with data pointing to a 15.5 per cent fall in cases over the past two weeks.

But he said the numbers were still too high, with data showing a rate of 185 cases per 100,000 population in Broxbourne and 140 in Hertsmere.

And he stressed the need to continue with the measures to suppress the virus, while the vaccination programme is rolled out.

“Vaccination is not a silver bullet”, Mr McManus said at the meeting of the Board.

And he added: “. . . it will take us, even as we roll out the vaccine, several months before we see a massive impact on the circulation of the virus and population immunity.

“That means until Easter we have to keep on going on with the measures that we are taking. Vaccination is not going to suddenly make us able to open everything up by Christmas.

“And we have to be absolutely realistic about the expectations of that with our population and with ourselves.

“So if we want vaccination to do its job – we need to keep on with all the suppression measures.”

Meanwhile Mr McManus also acknowledged there would need to be work to address public fears and concerns relating to vaccination.

“We do need seriously to address the fears people have because of misinformation about vaccination,” he said.

“I will be in the queue for vaccination as soon as I am allowed to join it.

“But we recognise there are many people who have got concerns and fears. And we have to take those honestly if we are to get the vaccine to do its job.

“We need everybody who is eligible to take it up.

“So we are going to have to work together, as part of our ‘journey to exit’, on the vaccine hesitancy.”

Although cases in Hertfordshire have decreased, Mr McManus said they continued to be high in some areas, could spread easily and ‘take-off’ if not careful.

He pointed to a ‘significant’ reduction amongst 18-22 year-olds, but a continuing increase amongst those aged 0-17.

And he particularly welcomed the declining rates amongst over-60s, who are at greater risk of needing hospital treatment.

Later in the meeting it emerged that there were currently 80 patients being treated for Covid by the West Herts Hospitals Trust – with a further four in intensive care.

And Mr McManus said: “Hospitals have been extremely busy with Covid – extremely busy with Covid.

“People may not be seeing it in the media, but to say this second peak hasn’t had an impact would be wholly untrue.”

Cataloguing the ongoing work to suppress the virus, he highlighted a wraparound self isolation service, contact tracing and enforcement, as well as new Covid marshals.

And he pointed to ongoing work to ensure transport, education and retail were as safe as possible.

He said he wanted the county to be safe – for people to feel they could shop safely and to protect retail staff, who he acknowledged as ‘front line key workers, and not always well paid.’

And he referred to a new ‘kitemark scheme’ that is being developed, so people can have confidence that hospitality and retail in Hertfordshire is safe.

Mr McManus also pointed to the use of lateral flow tests to enable university students to return to their family homes and for the transfer of vulnerable children between care settings.

And he highlighted their limited use as part of a national programme to allow family visiting in care homes.

But he said the county was taking a ‘precautionary approach’ doing as much as it can to enable visiting in line with national programme – but doing it safely.

The county council’s executive member for public health and prevention Cllr Cllr Tim Hutchings was also keen to stress the need for ongoing commitment to measures to suppress the virus.

“This is not over yet,” he said. “There is a lot of news obviously around vaccines at the moment, but I do want to emphasize its not over . It won’t be over for probably several months yet.

“And given our numbers – yes there is some decrease -but its not so rapid that we need to start celebrating yet. They are much higher than I would like to see and I am sure colleagues [. . . ] would like to see as well.”