Leicester appears to be the first town in England which may be getting a second wave. Results over the first half of June indicated a rise in the number of infections and the R number is starting to nudge above 1. This means that the infection will start to spread faster again and this is why the government is considering more lockdown measures in Leicester itself. In the UK the number of deaths from covid -19 has been reducing since May but this has now levelled off and is not reducing as fast as doctors would like. With the further lifting of restrictions on July 4th – with pubs reopening and families being allowed to mix with other households – we will probably get further cases in different parts of the country. Worldwide there are still huge numbers of people affected - the USA has re-imposed restrictions in parts of Florida and Texas; Brazil and India still have growing numbers of cases; even Germany has had to bring back strict pandemic lockdown in a northern town after 1500 workers in a meat processing factory tested positive. So the coronavirus (CV) is still a threat to all communities and we all need to play our part in reducing any second wave that will come along. September is only 2 months away and that is when other viruses tend to start popping up also. How do we tell these viruses from the coronavirus? The main symptoms of CV are a new persistent cough, fever and loss of smell and /or taste. Ordinary colds and flu can cause the same symptoms so it will be difficult to tell who has CV. The only way to mange this is to keep CV infections as low as possible now by continuing to maintain social distancing wherever possible, hand hygiene and wearing masks or face coverings. By September/October we may have access to easy to use at home saliva tests and this will allow us to see who has CV and who does not.
People have asked me about getting an antibody test to see if they have HAD the infection. Such tests are only being done on healthcare workers for research purposes only. This is so we can get an idea of how many people in the population have been affected by CV. However we know very little about what a positive antibody test means. How long are you immune for? Does it mean you can’t get the virus again or pass it on to other people? If enough of us have the antibodies do we get ‘herd immunity’?
Even if antibodies do offer protection current research seems to indicate that very few of us have got them. In New York, the world’s worst affected city I in 5 have antibodies to the virus; in London it is 1 in 7. This is well below the 2 in 3 people that need to carry the antibodies for ‘herd immunity’ – where the virus finds it hard to spread between people.
A safe and effective vaccine will give us this herd immunity but it is unlikely one will be available until 2021. One word of caution – there is no guarantee that vaccine trials will be successful but many doctors remain positive.
Until then we need to keep ourselves and our community safe. Staying safe from coronavirus is not all about distance but also about how long you spend with other people. If you are going to get closer to people eg indoors, then make sure there is good ventilation – opening a window is a good idea. Avoid touching plastics or metal as the virus can last 72 hrs on these surfaces. If you are out shopping or using public transport then do wear masks or face coverings – some people are infective without knowing.
Shielding patients - you should be receiving letters from the government very shortly and a list of frequently asked questions and answers. You can also go the website
www.gov.uk for this information – just type in ‘shielding’ in the search box.
The hayfever season is particularly bad this year as we have had a lot of sunny days interspersed with some rain which has drastically increased the pollen count. There are lots of medications available from your local pharmacy including anti-histamine tablets, anti-allergy eye drops and nasal sprays. Please do try these before calling your doctor. Some private clinics are offering ‘Kenalog’ which is an extremely powerful steroid injection. Even though they may work they can cause very serious problems with bone thinning, blood pressure, muscle wasting and diabetes. If your hayfever is severe and standard medications are ineffective then there is the option of trying a short course of steroid tablets which are often very effective. Please call us at the surgery to discuss this.
Stay safe everyone.
Bye for now
Dr M Tanvir Jamil
Senior Partner - Burnham Health Center
