At the same time, more than half a million COVID-19 vaccinations have already been given to protect people across Sussex in the most vulnerable groups.

We’re now reviewing the government’s lockdown exit plan and the implications this has on our services.

Dr Tony Hill, West Sussex County Council’s Interim Director of Public Health, said: “As more and more people receive their vaccinations, each one takes us a step nearer to coming out of lockdown.

“I’m pleased to see the cases in West Sussex fall, but COVID-19 is still present in our community and numbers will rise again if we don’t stick to the rules.

“We must continue to keep West Sussex safe by following the current guidelines, washing our hands regularly, wearing face masks whenever necessary and keeping a social distance from those outside of our households.”

Amanda Jupp, Cabinet Member for Adults & Health and Chair of the Local Outbreak Engagement Board, said: “The pandemic has been a difficult time, especially for those who have lost loved ones, battled coronavirus themselves or who have suffered hardship.

“The lockdown exit plan, along with the ongoing vaccination programme, hopefully offers some optimism for the coming months.

“However, it is still vital that we all play our part by following the rules to make sure everyone’s efforts to get us back to normal have not been in vain.”

Visit the Government’s website for details on the roadmap out of lockdown

• You are over 65.
• You have received a letter to say that you are now on the shielded patient list.
• You are a carer, aged 18 or over, who is in receipt of Carer’s Allowance, or if you are already registered as a carer by your GP.

Alternatively, you can wait to be contacted for an appointment by your local GP-led vaccination service.

If you are registered with the GP as a carer for a person who is eligible because of an underlying health condition, you might be offered appointments together. If you are a young carer aged 16-18, please wait to be contacted by your local GP as they will need to arrange for you to receive the Pfizer vaccine.

If you are a carer who is not in receipt of Carers Allowance or registered as a carer by your GP, more information will be available shortly on how you will identified and invited for vaccination.

All other eligible people will be contacted by their local GP-led vaccination service to be invited for an appointment over the coming weeks.

This includes all people on their GP’s learning disability register. Until this week, only people with the most severe learning disabilities were eligible because of their increased risk from COVID-19. This week the Government announced that this would be expanded to include all people registered with their GP as having a learning disability.

The episode goes live from 10am on Monday 8 March and can be viewed on West Sussex Record Office’s blog.

*This image is a women’s suffrage poster from Emma Cobden’s scrapbook, 1911.

As a priority, they are rebooking appointments with parents whose original appointments were cancelled between December and February. Once these have been completed, they will open for new bookings, so please check for updates on the link below from 22 March.

Home schooling, mental health and the challenges of choosing a university are just some of the issues being discussed.