Public health briefing for the borough of Bury – 19 November, 2021

Latest figures show that 46,276 people in Bury have now received a Covid-19 booster vaccination, with the majority of those also receiving a flu jab at the same time.

A total of 142,422 people in Bury have now received a first Covid vaccination, and 128,867 have had their second jab. Bury’s clinics continue to administer thousands of Covid-19 and flu vaccinations every week.

Bury’s excellent take up of vaccinations has been a key part of our fight against Covid-19, flu and other winter bugs. At present we are seeing flattening numbers of Covid-19 cases, and although flu and other illnesses are in circulation, they haven’t yet got any kind of grip.

However, Covid-19 rates may well increase again through winter, and flu usually becomes more widespread from December onwards. So the earlier everyone who is eligible receives their vaccinations the better. Continued social distancing, wearing of masks, greater ventilation and hand-washing will also help in limiting the spread of all sorts of winter illnesses.

Thank you for continuing to do your bit. Let’s look after each other and enjoy the winter season safely.

Cases fall – but picture remains uncertain

The number of new cases of Covid-19 fell in the week to 13 November, when Bury had the 5th highest rate in Greater Manchester with 350.3 cases per 100,000. Case numbers continue to be highest among school-aged children and working age adults. This fall may still reflect reduced mixing among school-aged children over the half-term, and there are early signs that case numbers may be rising again. The number of people in local hospitals fell, a likely reflection of falling case numbers in older people from around one week earlier. We continue to see deaths from Covid-19 in Bury, with three in the week to 6 November.