80 per cent of Sandwell's Covid cases are more contagious strain, says health chief

Dr Lisa McNally urged people to be "more stringent" as Sandwell battles with the second highest infection rate in England.

The new strain, which emerged in Kent and Greater London in September, is thought to spread "70 per cent quicker" and is more deadly than the previous one, said Dr McNally.

However, she said the Pfizer and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines are still effective against the newer strain, known scientifically as 'B.1.1.7'.

She told the Express & Star: "The science reckons it is about 50 to 70 per cent more transmissible, so it spreads 50 to 70 per cent faster, and more effectively.

"On top of that, unfortunately, we have just heard from Government that there is some research evidence that this new variant is also more deadly.

"The latest data I have had shows this new variant is actually responsible for about 80 per cent of infections in Sandwell.

"When you consider, before Christmas, it was very much in the minority of infections. It has gone from 10, 20 per cent, up to over 80 per cent in about a month really.

"At Christmas, when they discovered it, and we saw on the television, all those people of the train stations in London, I remembered thinking how many of those are coming to Sandwell. It only took a couple of weeks."

Although there are no figures for the other Black Country boroughs, Dr McNally said: "It is safe to say the new variant is everywhere."

But she added: "The vaccines completely deal with this new variant, just as well as the old one."

Dr McNally compared the new strain to a person "upgrading their mobile phone", where the components are the same but more effective.

She said the vaccines would "probably" be able to deal with other future Covid strains, as the jabs trigger immune responses in the body.

A factor which has added to the challenge in Sandwell is that the borough has a "really high percentage of people that still have to go to work during lockdown", she said.

"If you take people who work in processing plants, machine operators, our rate is twice is that of the national average, and significantly higher than the West Midlands average.

"We have hot an awful lot of people in Sandwell still having to go to work everyday."

In a bid to deal with the virus, a rapid Covid testing site is up and running at West Bromwich Town Hall.

It is open to people defined as 'critical workers' - including factory workers, those working in food retail, carers and schools - and only for those without Covid symptoms.

People must book a test in advance online. Tests are available for Sandwell residents and those working in the borough.

Dr McNally said testing and the roll-out of vaccinations are critical to beating the pandemic.

But she said there is misinformation being pushed about vaccines, including from "celebrities", which she branded "unhelpful".

"One specific one we have had is does it cause infertility which again, there is absolutely no evidence of it," she says.

"In fact, I was reading the other night that quite a few people in the vaccine trial got pregnant while they were doing it.

"There is obviously no effect and nothing to suggest it affects fertility.

"Unfortunately, there is a lot of people out there, including some celebs who I won't mention, maybe who don't get on the television as much as they like, who say things which are controversial to get attention," she said.

"Some of them have been spreading lies about the vaccine which is not helpful."

She added: "Essentially, the message is in Sandwell, if you are going to be infected with coronavirus, it is very likely now that it will be this new variant.

"The way people can protect themselves is sort of the same as before, but you have to be a lot more stringent. In the past, you might have got away if you didn't keep two metres from people when you were outside in the supermarket.

"Now this virus will catch you out, if you drop your guard in anyway. It is the same things, we need to do, hands, face, space, but we have to be on the button everyday, conscious, and never let our guard down, because this virus will get you.

"It is that catchable and transmissible."