Therapist Anne-Marie continues her diary during the lockdown

We catch up with Anne-Marie as she remains in lockdown, keeping up with further changes COVID-19 is placing on her business as the vaccine is rolled out.

Monday 18th January

Today the vaccine is rolled out to people aged 70 or over and those in the clinically extremely vulnerable group. So far over 3.8 million people have received their first vaccine dose in the UK, which is a great achievement. London is to start trialling 24 hour vaccination centres. This will be beneficial in the effort to vaccinate as many people as possible.

All UK travel corridors are temporarily suspended to protect against new international variants. These measures are expected to be in place for at least a month.

Tuesday 19th January

I am feeling more positive today. Reading that more than 4 million people have received their first dose of the vaccine is great news! More than half of those aged 80 and over have received the vaccine. This all feels quite emotional! This time last year we were watching events unfold in China. A year on there is so much more information on the virus and more resources available. There is still a long way to go but the positive impact of the vaccination roll out cannot be underestimated. Ten more vaccination sites have opened too, which will really help with getting the vaccine out into the population quickly.

My hope is that my clients will be able to have the vaccine and will feel safer leaving their houses and being around other people. They will then be able to return to their massage and reflexology sessions with me. I miss seeing my clients and doing the treatments. However I remain hopeful that I will be able to reopen my clinic and enjoy doing what I love again.

Thursday 21st January

The UK have now given doses of the coronavirus vaccine to 4.6 million people and further vaccination sites have opened up, including a cinema and a mosque. Plus a further 65 pharmacy sites will be shortly opening and offering the vaccine. Friends have said members of their family have either had the vaccine or received a letter asking them to book their appointment, which feels encouraging.

Friday 22nd January

The vaccination roll out continues, with the Armed Forces helping out in hospitals, vaccination centres and testing.

Monday 25th January

Taking a day off! Time out from social media, news and any outside sources to concentrate on self-care during this difficult time is so important. Having had fairly heavy snow on Sunday, today is bright sunshine, and getting out in nature really helps lift the spirits.

Tuesday 26th January

The statistics are showing that daily cases yesterday were 22,195, down 15,340 on last week. Although hospital admissions are 37,899 an increase of 278 on last week. I hope that these statistics do keep going in a downward direction. Regarding the vaccine, 9.8% of the UK have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Thursday 28th January

At least 10.7% of the UK have now received at least one dose of the vaccine, which is good news. However it is incredibly sad to hear that the number of deaths in the UK has now reached over 100,000. This is very hard to come to terms with.

During difficult times I think it is really important to keep to a routine. I have had a few friends mention to me that they are doing a gratitude journal. They have been finding this past month particularly hard too. They all report that journalling helps, so I decide to try it too! I found this article – 5 Reasons Keeping A Gratitude Journal Will Change Your Life. It all seems incredibly positive and anything that improves well being right now is definitely worth a try, isn’t it? I will report back! If you are reading this and think it is something you are keen to try let me know how you get on.

Friday 29th January

Some good news! A new vaccine is shown to be effective against the UK and South African variants. The article mentions that the “Novavax vaccine had higher efficacy against the original coronavirus, 95.6%, and 85.6% against the UK variant – so 89.3% overall”. This is a fantastic development.

More news of a one dose COVID vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson is also encouraging! This would make it much easier logistically. People wouldn’t need to wait to go back for a second dose and stocks will go further. I hope that these new developments continue.

Today 11.1% of the population in the UK had received at least one vaccine dose. Daily cases still seem high though at 28,680. This is a lot less than the 60,000+ that we had a while ago, which does show that the lockdown measures are working. I look forward to the day when we see very few cases. With the new vaccines being available, this will hopefully be something that can happen in the not too distant future.

As we follow Anne-Marie’s journey navigating her practice through COVID-19, we would love to hear your stories, too!

Can you relate to Anne-Marie’s experience? How is 2021 starting out for you? How do you manage to stay positive? Please share in the comments and please sign up to become a member of PPH to receive industry news and updates.

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