JILL MORTIMER: Freedom day doesn’t mean a free for all; we must take care

I have spent this time conducting as may meetings as possible over zoom and catching up on correspondence, whilst nursing the three members of the household with Covid-19.

Thank goodness for the vaccine, with which we have all been double jabbed apart from two of the infected members who have only been able to have one dose so far- thankfully they both only have mild symptoms as a consequence of having received one vaccine. It is for this reason that I would urge anyone who has yet to receive a Covid-19 jab to get vaccinated – there is a walk-in vaccination clinic operating at the following location and time:

Victoria Road Medical Centre, Victoria Road, Hartlepool TS26 8DF, on Saturday 24 July, 9am – 5pm.

I know many of my constituents would like to know my reasoning for voting for carers to be required to receive vaccinations against Covid-19, in Parliament this week. It is all about protecting the rights of the most vulnerable members of our community, to know that they are being cared for by people who have taken every precaution to mitigate risking their exposure to the disease. My son works as a carer, and he was first in line to receive his jab and protect the people he cares for.

Moving forward, ‘freedom day’ does not mean a free for all, it means freedom to go about your daily business and manage your own risk. Many of us have been vaccinated, but this does not mean we cannot pass the virus and so we should take care when returning back to ‘normal’ life. We all still have a duty to each other. It is now time for us to learn to live responsibly with Covid-19 and get our economy back up to scratch, people back to work so they can provide for their families and our Town built back better.

I would like to sign off this week by saying that the thoughts of both myself and my office are with the family of Matthew Sherrington, the young boy who disappeared in the Steetley Pier area during the week.