Cornwall Council volunteers promote Covid-19 vaccine uptake

Street teams, ‘Vaxi Taxis’ and extra vaccination clinics are just some of the measures being introduced across Cornwall to help bring Covid cases down and keep residents safe.

Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly were designated an Enhanced Response Area (ERA) on August 27 and, almost three weeks on, case rates have dropped in line with the South West and national average - although the number of people with Covid-19 in hospital continues to put pressure on the NHS.

This morning saw Falmouth's street team begin their leafleting campaign, with local volunteers joining in to help residents make informed decisions and promote vaccine uptake.

The team of volunteers giving out information in Falmouth.

Speaking to The Packet at the event, Deputy Director of Public Health, Ruth Goldstein, said: "Part of what we're trying to do here with people on the street and the handing out of leaflets is to make it easy for people to, first of all, be able to access the vaccines because we know that some people struggle to get it, they find it hard to travel to the vaccine centres, they don't know that they need an appointment.

"So part of what we're doing, as part of the Enhance Response Area, is taking away all of those barriers.

"Putting pop-up clinics so that you don't have to book you can just turn up, having a 'Vaxi Taxi' service available free to people so that we can help people actually get to the vaccination clinics and then also we've been putting huge amount of information through The Council's website and also through the Kernow CCG to help people make informed decisions.

"There is os much information out there now about the vaccines, some of which is absolutely right, but also some stuff which is, from a scientific perspective, not necessarily proven, so what we're trying to do is give people enough information so that they can make an informed choice.

Portfolio holder for Adults and Public Health Cllr Andy Virr and Deputy Director of Public Health Dr Ruth Goldstein

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Councillor Andy Virr, portfolio holder for Adults and Public Health, said: "There's a big link between the case rate and vaccinations.

"In the peaks we've seen recently, areas of the county where there has been a low vaccination rate have seen higher levels of Covid, particularly here in Falmouth as well as places like Newquay.

"That's why it's great to be doing this focussed work and making sure people understand they can access the vaccine easily and where they can go to have their questions answered.

"I also work at a hospital, and the people I'm seeing coming in with Covid needing hospital treatment predominantly are people who are unvaccinated.

"That's frustrating given all the work we're doing, it's frustrating given the vaccine can help to protect you, and people are really risking their lives.

"There's danger out there and it's very important we angage with it and we want to remove any barrier from someone to get a jab and that's the purpose of having boots on the ground today."

AdVans sharing information about Covid-19 and vaccines will be travelling across the county.

The ‘Vaxi Taxi’, is a free transport scheme supported by Volunteer Cornwall, to encourage carers to get fully jabbed before September 16 which was initially planned for the clinically vulnerable but is now being pushed for those working in care settings.

The service means eligible people can call upon volunteers to help transport them to a vaccination centre as well as then drop them back.

Any carer or person working in a care setting will need to be fully vaccinated from November 11.

This means they will need their first dose by September 16 to meet the deadline for the second vaccination.

For more information on Cornwall Council's Covid-19 resources, visit: cornwall.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/information-about-coronavirus/