Every care home resident in Manchester has received their first vaccine dose
Each person living at care homes across the city centre has been offered their initial jab as part of England's vaccine rollout - which has seen over 6.5 million vaccinated in total so far.
Every care home resident in the Manchester borough has received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Care homes across the city centre have been prioritised for jabs as part of England’s vaccine rollout – which has seen over 6.5 million people in the country vaccinated in total so far.
All vaccinations in Manchester have been administered by local GPs, pharmacists and NHS community staff.
Councillor Bev Craig, Manchester City Council’s executive member for adult health and wellbeing, said she was “so proud” of the work that had gone into protecting the region’s most vulnerable people.
She added: “We are already also seeing a really encouraging take up of the vaccine amongst care home staff, we cannot stress how important this is and we’d urge any staff member who is still unsure to talk to their colleagues who have already had it so they can see how easy and safe the process has been.
“They can book an appointment through their home managers and we really want to encourage them to take this opportunity as soon as possible.”
Manchester has reached a milestone with its vaccination programme – every care home resident has now had at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. pic.twitter.com/TyAHKJmMCD
Around 80% of all Over 80s in England have now been vaccinated.
The UK is currently on track to give each of the top four priority groups – care home residents and staff, frontline workers, Over 70s and the clinically vulnerable – the vaccine before February 15.
Under current plans, all Manchester care home residents are scheduled for second vaccine jabs (if they haven’t received them already) no later than 12 weeks after receiving their initial dose.
Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and OxfordZenecca vaccines require two separate doses for maximum effect against coronavirus.
The original plan was to give these two doses three weeks apart, but the UK government changed course ahead of the rollout, opting to give as many vulnerable people as possible their first shot to offer some initial protection.
The strategy is causing debate, with one group writing to England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty asking to cut the gap between doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to six weeks.
Professor Whitty has previously rationalised the decision as “simple maths”.
He stated: “…if a vaccine is more than 50% effective, if you double the number of people who are vaccinated over this very risky period when there is a lot of virus circulating, you are overall going to get some substantial benefit.”
Whitty added: “I think most people would agree that the risk that was identified was a relatively much smaller risk than the risk of not having people vaccinated, which essentially was the alternative.”
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‘Dazzling’ Victorian silver sculpture goes on public display in Greater Manchester after fears it was lost
Emily Sergeant
A long-lost masterpiece of Victorian silverwork has been saved and is now on display to the public in Greater Manchester.
Anyone taking a trip over to the National Trust’s historic Dunham Massey property, on the border of Greater Manchester into Cheshire, this summer will get to see the ‘dazzling’ sculpture called Stags in Bradgate Park – which was commissioned by a former owner in a defiant gesture to the society that shunned him.
The dramatic sculpture of two rutting Red Deer stags, commissioned in 1855 by George Harry Grey, 7th Earl of Stamford, was said to be an ‘act of love and rebellion’.
It also serves as a symbol of ‘locking horns’ with the society that ostracised him over his marriage to a woman considered ‘beneath him’.
“This isn’t just silver – it’s a story,” says James Rothwell, who is the National Trust‘s curator for decorative arts.
“A story of a man who fell in love with a woman that society deemed unworthy. When the Earl married Catherine Cox, whose colourful past was said to have included performing in a circus, Victorian high society was scandalised. Even Queen Victoria shunned the couple at the opera and local gentry at the horse races in Cheshire turned their backs on them.”
Modelled by Alfred Brown and crafted by royal goldsmiths Hunt & Roskell, Stags in Bradgate Park is a meticulously-detailed depiction of nature, and was considered a ‘sensation’ in its day.
Showing the rutting deer positioned on a rocky outcrop with gnarled hollow oaks, it graced the pages of the Illustrated London News, was exhibited at the London International Exhibition of 1862, and at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1867 – both of which were events that drew millions of visitors.
A ‘dazzling’ Victorian silver sculpture has gone on public display in Greater Manchester / Credit: Joe Wainwright | James Dobson (via Supplied)
The silver centrepiece was the celebrity art of its time, paraded through streets and admired by the public like no other.
Gradually over the years, some of the Earl of Stamford’s silver collection has been re-acquired for Dunham Massey, and this particular world-renowned sculpture, thought to be lost for decades and feared to have been melted down, has miraculously survived with its ‘dramatic’ central component being all that is left.
“The sculpture is not only a technical marvel, with its lifelike depiction of Bradgate Park’s rugged landscape and wildlife, but also a dramatic human story key to the history of Dunham Massey,” added Emma Campagnaro, who is the Property Curator at Dunham Massey.
“It speaks of nature, of craftsmanship, and of a couple who chose each other over status and what others thought of them.”
The sculpture has now gone on display at Dunham Massey from Thursday 26 June.
Featured Image – James Dobson (via Supplied)
News
Lewis Capaldi announces MASSIVE comeback gig in Manchester this year
Thomas Melia
Everyone’s favourite Scottish ballad-maker, Lewis Capaldi, is heading out on tour across the UK, including a massive Manchester date.
Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi is ready to tug at our heartstrings again right in front of our eyes as he announces a new UK arena tour.
This huge announcement comes right after his surprise set at the UK’s biggest music event of the year, Glastonbury, where he made a heroic return to the Pyramid Stage just two years after being forced to pull out.
Capaldi is known for writing some of the most notable and emotive hits of the late 2010s and early 2020s, including a long list of anthems such as ‘Someone You Loved’, ‘Bruises’ and ‘Before You Go’.
His monster of a hit ‘Someone You Loved’ has surpassed 3.9 billion views and is the UK’s most-streamed song of all time, so it is safe to say that his presence has been well and truly missed.
To many fans’ delight, the singer has stepped back into the spotlight and is ready to sing his heart out live at a variety of arenas across the UK, including Co-op Live right here in Manchester.
Now, in a post on his official Instagram account announcing this upcoming UK and Ireland arena tour, it’s good to see the Scottish powerhouse hasn’t lost his wit and charm as he jokes, “About time I got back to work.”
These shows are set to be in high demand as the singer has also revealed these upcoming dates, “Will be my only shows in the UK, Ireland or Europe this year! Would love to see ya there.”
On the back of his glorious Glasto return, Capaldi has dropped a huge heart-wrencher titled ‘Survive’ which offers more insight into the struggles and challenges the singer has been facing.
There is no confirmation of whether this new single marks the launch of a bigger project or not, but we can’t wait to scream his hits at the top of our lungs, regardless of when he pays Manchester a visit later this year.
The Manc -
26th January 2021 
