Encouraging employees over the age of 18 to get their COVID vaccine now
Published on Thursday, 01 July 2021
As a local business and employer you have a vital role to play in the fight against COVID as the national restrictions start to ease.
Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen COVID take on quite a different pattern. Our infection rates have climbed rapidly to 154 per 100k with 305 new cases. This is in stark contrast to the rate of 12 per 100,000 we experienced in mid-May. This rapid increase is caused by the Delta variant which is predominantly spreading amongst the younger people specifically in the 11-18 age group.
Hospital numbers, thankfully, have not increased at the same rate showing how good getting a vaccine is at protecting against severe reactions to the disease and hospitalisation. This is great news but we are still in a race to get all adults vaccinated to protect those who are vulnerable or have only had one dose of the vaccine.
Our best defence against COVID is for everyone aged 18 and over to get two doses. So far over 15,487 of our 18-29 year olds in the borough have had their first dose. Please encourage anyone in your workforce aged 18 or over to get their vaccine as soon as possible.
Alongside the NHS and our local Birmingham and Solihull Clinical Commissioning Group we are doing all we can to accelerate the vaccination programme over the coming weeks. We have walk-in vaccine centres being set up across the region on a daily basis.
Our first one is at Chelmsley Wood Primary Care Centre, 16 Crabtree Drive, B375BU, on Friday 2 July from 9am until 5pm, where they will be offering the Pfizer vaccine which means anyone aged 18 or over can attend.
You and your employees can also find other walk-in vaccination sites here.
And even if you and your employees are vaccinated, please make getting a regular test part of your weekly routine. We have testing centres in Chelmsley Wood and Solihull town centres, you can walk in and get tested or take away a test to do at home.
If you or an employee do test positive and a PCR test confirms it, we can offer financial support when you/ they need to self-isolate. We have increased the threshold on the scheme so that anyone can access funds if they earn up to £26,000 - full details here. We can also provide other help and support; more information is available here.
For further information about the vaccination programme please visit the Birmingham & Solihull NHS COVID-19 Vaccination Service website.
For advice and guidance about making your business COVID-secure, testing, self-isolation and the support available please contact us at contacttracing@solihull.gov.uk or contact the business team by emailing business@solihull.gov.uk.
Yours faithfully
Ruth Tennant