Coronavirus support

Residents are being urged to take five minutes to register to vote in May’s local and regional elections, with just one week left to ensure they can have their say next month.The deadline to register to vote is midnight on 19 April, with applications for postal votes closing at 5pm on 20 April. It’s quick and easy to register on gov.ukElections will take place on 6 May for the Mayor of London and London Assembly, with Council by-elections in Stamford Hill West, Kings Park, Hoxton East & Shoreditch and Woodberry Down wards. In order to vote, residents must be on the electoral register.Hackney residents will vote in elections to select: Councillors in these four wards, who represent their local area and residents at Hackney CouncilThe Mayor of London and the Members that make up the London Assembly. The Mayor of London is responsible for making plans, strategies and policies for Londoners, as well as managing the budget to run transport, police, and fire services. Assembly Members scrutinise the work of the Mayor and carry out investigations into issues of importance to LondonersResidents are being encouraged to vote by post this year to avoid increased waiting times at polling stations operating under coronavirus restrictions.Voters have a range of options for casting their ballot – in person, by post or by appointing someone they trust to vote in their place, known as a proxy vote. For those who choose to vote in person, polling stations will be safe places to vote on 6 May.The deadline to apply to register to vote is midnight on 19 April, to register for a postal vote is 5pm on 20 April, and for a proxy vote the deadline is 5pm on 27 April.To register or for more information, visit gov.uk, the Ways to Vote page or contact electoralservices@hackney.gov.uk or 020 8356 3232.

The Mayor of Hackney Philip Glanville and Speaker of Hackney, Cllr Kam Adams, have released this joint statement following the death of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who passed away peacefully at Windsor Castle today (Friday, 9 April).“We are deeply saddened to learn of the death of Prince Philip. The Duke was married to Queen Elizabeth II for more than 70 years and was the longest-serving consort in British history. “He served our country for many years, including in the Royal Navy during World War 2, and lived a life of relentless royal duty, immersing himself wholeheartedly in national life. He was the most energetic member of the royal family with, for many decades, the busiest engagements diary.“From the outset he took a keen interest in young people through the Duke of Edinburgh award, which he launched in 1956, inspired by his school days. In January we recognised the deep connection between these awards and Hackney’s young people at a virtual ceremony, where our latest group of young people received their Bronze Awards.“The Duke came to embody endurance and stability for our country: through decades of change and stability; through times of peace and crisis. We all felt we knew Prince Philip in some way. That sense of familiarity and steadiness was especially important over these past 12 months, as the country continues to battle the greatest challenge of a generation. And the Duke’s death will be felt all the more keenly as a result. “The Duke made a number of visits to Hackney, including most recently, in 2012, when aged 90, he visited Laburnum Boat Club then Hackney Quest as a patron of London Youth, a charity which supports both projects as part of a network of 400 organisations across the capital. We were also pleased to welcome the Earl of Wessex, representing the Duke of Edinburgh, to our Young Hackney Hub in 2016 to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards.“On behalf of Hackney, we send our sincere condolences to Her Majesty The Queen and members of the Royal family. “Flags at Hackney Town Hall are being flown at half-mast and a Book of Condolence will be open online soon for residents to sign.”

A new online portal has been launched for local late night venues, to help support them through the coronavirus pandemic and beyond. The Council’s inaugural Hackney Nights portal will serve as a hub for information and will play a key role in supporting our night time venues, which continue to be significantly impacted by the pandemic. It will provide venues – such as bars, restaurants and off licences - and their staff with access to information and resources on coronavirus safety to support them to reopen safely. Venues who sign-up to the portal will also have access to training courses on a range of key night time safety issues, such as women’s safety, responsible alcohol use, managing vulnerability, hate crime, substance misuse, mental health and wellbeing in night time spaces, with more anticipated to be added over the coming weeks and months. Additionally, the portal will provide a faster distribution of night time safety updates and alerts from the Council, police and other partners, alongside information on local events for licensees. The Council has worked closely with Hackney web design firm Igloo to develop the portal, which will feature bespoke training courses developed by Council officers as well as training provided by a range of different organisations such as the Met Police, Drinkaware and Good Night Out, who support venues to tackle sexual harassment. The portal is part of the Council’s Hackney Nights project, which encompasses a range of night time safety initiatives to help create a safer Hackney for everyone. This is funded by the Late Night Levy, which is paid for by local late-night licensed venues to contribute towards a safer night time economy. The Council will also shortly be launching a Hackney Nights’ accreditation scheme for local late night venues, which recognises venues that meet certain night time safety criteria. Venues will have their accreditation reviewed annually.Other Hackney Nights initiatives include a large-scale targeted additional police presence and public awareness campaigns such as Reframe the Night, which tackled the damaging culture of victim-blaming around night time sexual harassment and saw licensees receive free training from Good Night Out.If you’re a local licensee, you can sign-up to the portal by visiting: hackneynights.co.uk/signup 

Dr Sandra Husbands has been a doctor for 33 years and is currently the Director of Public Health for Hackney and the City of London. Here she gives an update on the coronavirus vaccine.Keep up to date with the coronavirus vaccine roll out in Hackney on our website.Tragically, since the start of the pandemic, over 127,000 people across the UK, including 490 in Hackney, have died from COVID-19. With your chance of dying from COVID-19 increasing due to factors such as age, ethnicity and medical conditions, this toll would have been much higher if we hadn’t all worked together to practise hands, face, space, and ensure we complied with lockdown rules.But lockdown cannot continue forever. This was a stop-gap measure to allow scientists the time to develop treatments for the disease and, best of all, a prevention in the form of a vaccine. Thankfully we now have three highly effective vaccines that are being rolled out across the country, which are estimated to have already saved over 6,000 lives.All three vaccines have been through rigorous safety assessments, in order to be licensed by the UK and overseas medicines safety regulators, which continue to monitor their effects as the vaccines are being rolled out. Over 31 million people in the UK have safely received their first dose of vaccine, including 20 million who have received an AstraZeneca jab. However, no medicines are without risks or side effects and there are some concerns that there may be a very low risk of a rare type of blood clotting disorder, with a low platelet count, due to the AstraZeneca vaccine. There’s no firm evidence yet that the vaccine actually causes this to happen. But the regulators are taking this very seriously and investigating the possible link. Although it’s very rare - only 79 cases in 20 million people vaccinated in the UK (or 4 per 1,000,000), this blood clotting disorder seems to affect young women under 30 years old, more than other people. Much more common is the risk of a blood clot for those who actually catch COVID-19, caused by the disease itself. Blood clots occur in 7-11% (7 to 11 in every 100) of people who have COVID-19 – a much higher risk than with the vaccine. The British and EU medicines agencies have weighed up the evidence and continue to advise that the benefits of vaccination are much greater than the risks of COVID-19. In the UK, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), advises that “the benefits of prompt vaccination with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine far outweigh the risk of adverse events for individuals 30 years of age and over and those who have underlying health conditions, which put them at higher risk of severe COVID-19 disease”. For people under 30 who have no underlying health conditions that significantly increase their risk of COVID-19, JCVI is currently advising that they are offered an alternative vaccine, if available. However, if they wish to choose to have the AstraZeneca one, in order to be vaccinated earlier, this may be possible, after discussion with their GP. If you are under 30 and not a front line health or care worker and you're not at higher risk of COVID-19, you have time to think about this, as you won't be invited for vaccination until about July.With the AstraZeneca vaccine, as with any medicine, there are very rare risks. So, if you get strange side effects in the days after your jab, such as a persistent severe headache, please call your GP or 111. In case of an emergency, if you have severe symptoms, such as breathlessness, call 999. The WHO, European Medicines Agency and British medicine agencies have declared that the vaccines are still safe and effective, to use in the fight against COVID-19 which is a highly infectious disease, which can be deadly or lead to long term symptoms, particularly in young people.I have had my vaccination and I want to assure all residents that the vaccines are safe. When you are offered the vaccine please do take it, to protect yourself from coronavirus.   For more information Read the Government response as the MHRA issues new advice, concluding a possible link between COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca and extremely rare, unlikely to occur blood clots.Read the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation statement on use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccineKeep up to date with the vaccine roll out in Hackney