What steps are you taking to ensure London has the resilience and preparedness for a further wave of coronavirus?

The resilience arrangements and planning for London remain in place across partnerships ready to respond to a further wave of COVID or any other infectious disease through the London Resilience Forum.  UK Health Improvement and Security Agency (UKHSA), as a key partner in London, continues to regularly brief partners on any intelligence relating to the future of the virus.  I also meet regularly with UKHSA, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), and the NHS who monitor the COVID infection rates and impact closely.

OHID, UKHSA and the NHS are undertaking a range of winter planning, nationally and regionally, as they do annually, including identifying the specific risks associated with COVID-19 and the actions that are needed to mitigate and control these.

The NHS began the Autumn COVID vaccination programme in September and has had a strong start with more than 330,000 people (up to 10% of the eligible population) nationally having already had an autumn vaccine.