Covid 19

Current awareness updates

COVID-19: letter to patients on end of shielding programme.
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA); 2021.
[Reference-only version of letter from the government to patients on the end of the shielding programme.]

COVID-19 rapid guideline: managing the long-term effects of COVID-19.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2021.
[This guideline covers identifying, assessing and managing the long-term effects of COVID-19, often described as ‘long COVID’. On 11 November, NICE made new recommendations and updated existing recommendations on identification; planning care; multidisciplinary rehabilitation; follow up, monitoring and discharge; and service organisation. NICE also updated the list of common symptoms, emphasising that these may be different for children.]

COVID-19 booster vaccine programme for winter 2021 to 2022: JCVI statement, November 2021.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2021.
[This statement sets out further advice from JCVI on extension of the booster programme to revaccinate adults aged 40 to 49 years against COVID-19. The main aim of this booster vaccination programme is to reduce deaths, serious disease and hospitalisations from COVID-19 over the 2021 to 2022 winter period and through 2022.]

Why we think you should say yes to the COVID-19 vaccine.
Leeds Clinical Commissioning Group; 2021.
[An information leaflet about the COVID-19 vaccine where clinicians and faith leaders highlight the importance of having the vaccine. The leaflet has been translated into the following languages: Amharic, Arabic, Bengali, Czech, Farsi, Kurdish Sorani, Polish, Punjabi, Romanian, Slovak, Tigrinya and Urdu. Audio versions of the leaflet are available for each of those languages.]

No one wants to see my baby: challenges to building back better for babies.
Parent-Infant Foundation; 2021.
[This report explores the continued impact of Covid-19 on babies. It consists of a survey of professionals, in-depth studies with 11 families and a review of the literature, conducted with partner organisations Home-Start and Best Beginnings. The report shows that many services across the UK are not operating as they were before the pandemic, and babies and their families are missing out as a result.]

Essential and Invisible: Filipino irregular migrants in the UK’s ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
Kanlungan Filipino Consortium; 2021.
[For many in the United Kingdom, it might feel as if the “crisis” of the COVID-19 pandemic is coming to an end. Yet for irregular migrants, the pandemic has become a protracted struggle to survive. This report is based on interviews with Filipino irregular migrants based in the UK conducted in Spring 2021, compared to the same interviewees’ responses in Spring 2020.]

Coronavirus: support for landlords and tenants.
House of Commons Library; 2021.
[This briefing explains measures during the coronavirus outbreak to help renting households retain their homes. It covers calls for more assistance to prevent evictions and homelessness.]

Covid 19


Current awareness updates

The impact of COVID-19 restrictions in the United Kingdom on the positive behavioural support of people with an intellectual disability
Murray G. British Journal of Learning Disabilities 2021;49(2):138-144.
[It has been suggested that COVID-19 and the associated restrictions are likely to have a negative impact on the provision of positive behavioural support (PBS) to people with an intellectual disability. Participants reported a neutral or somewhat positive impact on all the areas measured and the learning from their PBS programme as helping them cope with COVID-19. Many staff developed creative solutions that allowed them to provide PBS despite COVID-19 restrictions.]

VacciNation: Exploring vaccine confidence.
Healthwatch England; 2021.
[Our new research explores vaccine confidence amongst people from African, Bangladeshi, Caribbean, and Pakistani backgrounds. We want to understand these barriers to ensure key lessons are taken forward for future public health campaigns.]

Lateral flow device performance data.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2021.
[Analysis confirms lateral flow devices (LFDs) are successful at identifying infectious cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) and real-world data shows Innova LFDs are capable of detecting the Delta variant.]

COVID-19 surveillance and immunity studies.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2021.
[Updated 01 July 21: Added link to Schools Infection Survey research findings – round 5.]

JCVI issues interim advice on COVID-19 booster vaccination.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has been asked to consider the options for a potential coronavirus (COVID-19) booster programme.]

COVID-19 and adult congenital heart disease services: impact on support and advice from nurse specialists.
Anthony J. British Journal of Nursing 2021;30(12):730-732.
[Although the focus on service provision in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has mainly been on acute and particularly intensive care, it is important to consider other services that are still needed. This is especially the case for vulnerable patients with long-term conditions, such as those under the care of an adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) service.]

Use of Telehealth in Mental Health (MH) Services During and After COVID-19.
Molfenter T. Community Mental Health Journal 2021;:Online ahead of print.
[COVID-19 social distancing guidelines caused a rapid transition to telephone and video technologies for the delivery of mental health (MH) services. The study examined: (a) adoption of these technologies across the MH service continuum; (b) acceptance of these technologies; and (c) intention of providers to use these technologies following the pandemic based on a sample of 327 MH organizations from 22 states during May-August 2020.]

Persistent symptoms following SARS-CoV-2 infection in a random community sample of 508,707 people.
Imperial College London; 2021.
[Random samples of the population between September 2020 and February 2021 found that nearly 27,000 (around 6%) reported experiencing at least one of 29 symptoms linked with COVID-19 for 12 weeks or more.]

Potential Coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms reported through NHS Pathways and 111 online (18 Mar 2020-30 Jun 2021).
NHS Digital; 2021.
[Data published on potential COVID-19 symptoms reported through NHS Pathways and 111 online Dashboard shows the total number of NHS Pathways triages through 111 and 999, and online assessments in 111 online which have received a potential COVID-19 final disposition. This data is based on potential COVID-19 symptoms reported by members of the public to NHS Pathways through NHS 111 or 999 and 111 online, and is not based on the outcomes of tests for coronavirus. This is not a count of people.]


Coronavirus Shielded Patient List Summary Totals, England – as at 01 July 2021.
NHS Digital; 2021.
[Snapshot on 22 Jun 2021 – England only.]

Primary Care Workforce in Alternative Settings – General Practitioners in the Covid Clinical Assessment Service.
NHS Digital; 2021.
[28 Mar 2020 to 31 Mar 2021.The COVID-19 Clinical Assessment Service was operative from 28 March 2020 to May 2021 and there were fluctuations in the demand for patient appointments during this period according to the COVID-19 infection rates. Recruitment to the service ceased in January 2021 and all GPs were onboarded by March this year.]

Remote home monitoring (virtual wards) for confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients: a rapid systematic review.
Vindrola-Padros C. EClinicalMedicine 2021;37:Vindrola-Padros.
[A rapid systematic review on models led by primary and secondary care across seven countries (US, Australia, Canada, The Netherlands, Ireland, China, UK) identified 27 articles. Monitoring was carried out via online platforms, paper-based systems with telephone calls or (less frequently) through wearable sensors. No substantive conclusions regarding patient safety and the identification of early deterioration due to lack of standardized reporting and missing data.]

Bridging the uptake gap – COVID-19 vaccination toolkit for Black African and Black African Caribbean communities.
NHS England; 2021.
[Evidence-based good practice for increasing vaccination confidence and uptake among Black African and Black African Caribbean populations.]