Although most legal restrictions have now been lifted, it’s just as important to remember that Covid-19 is still a part of our lives.
Cases are now as high as they were in January and continue to rise in Sheffield. We all need to do our bit to keep each other safe. At the end of the day, these vaccines are designed to prevent people from getting seriously ill or even death. It’s the small jabs that could make the difference between seeing your mates or getting seriously ill.
The MHRA, the official UK regulator, has said the Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines are safe and highly effective. As with any medicine, vaccines are highly regulated products. There are checks at every stage in the development and manufacturing process, and continued monitoring once it has been authorised and is being used in the wider population. It’s been properly researched and developed by top professionals. For the sake of some minor side effects, like a sore arm or tiredness – which feels like a bad hangover – you’re doing your part in the fight against coronavirus.
For some people, Covid-19 can cause symptoms that last weeks or months after the infection has gone. This is called long Covid. Around 10,000 people in Sheffield have long Covid, including plenty of young uns’. Long Covid can cause fatigue, anxiety, and impotence, affecting healthy people of all ages. There are over 200 symptoms of long Covid,and the best way to not get long Covid is to not get Covid. The best way to not get Covid is to get vaccinated.
We all want to return to some sort of normality after the world was turned upside down by the pandemic. Sheffield is our home, and we need to look after ourselves and the people in it. It’s never been simpler to get vaccinated with your first and second dose, only 8 weeks apart. Walk-in to one of Sheffield’s many pop-up clinics to have the jab on the same day – even if you’re not registered with a GP. Find out where the latest walk-in clinics are on the Sheffield Clinical Commissioning Group website – sheffieldccg.nhs.uk. Or if you’d rather, you can book an appointment via nhs.uk/covid-vaccination or by calling the national booking centre via 119.
Thank you, Sheffield, for getting your Covid vaccine. Over 60% of us are now double vaccinated, so let’s keep it going, and get your jab today to keep the Steel City moving.
