Vaccination

[NormanB]

In Scotland we are meant to be getting the call in blue envelopes. Nothing all week !

Anyway I went shopping this morning in the opposite direction to the surgery and got a mobile call to attend in 45 minutes - I'm 78 and not vulnerable!! Got it put back another half hour and was really impressed by how slickly and in a friendly manner they were getting through all the older folks rolling up.
Rob

Scotland was frustrated in their attempt to use blue envelopes because of supply issues. It is still their intent to use the blues when supply is secured.
However, in view of recent developments the EU may well embargo the ‘blues’. In their attempt to win hearts and minds.

 

[NormanB]

One reason the UK have ordered another 60 million doses of vaccine is because they know it protects for six months and these are probably for the autumn

That is not the reason at all.

 

[Owd Jockey]

Just back from my second day shift at a local vaccination centre in Shrewsbury as a NHS Volunteer, i've had two days of helping with patient flows. While there has been large queues in nearby Telford, we have had virtually no queues at all! I think it depends not only on the building and procedures you are working with but the cohorts that are receiving the jab. The last two days have been predominantly frontline staff and support workers and I was able to scour the car parks and advise people that they could simply go straight in as there was no queue. This insured the car park never filled up. It worked well and this centre was doing 400/day. A 75+ age cohort would be different though. Still we are getting there and I am proud to be doing 'my bit'.

 

[Rorschach]

Just back from my second day shift at a local vaccination centre in Shrewsbury as a NHS Volunteer, i've had two days of helping with patient flows. While there has been large queues in nearby Telford, we have had virtually no queues at all! I think it depends not only on the building and procedures you are working with but the cohorts that are receiving the jab. The last two days have been predominantly frontline staff and support workers and I was able to scour the car parks and advise people that they could simply go straight in as there was no queue. This insured the car park never filled up. It worked well and this centre was doing 400/day. A 75+ age cohort would be different though. Still we are getting there and I am proud to be doing 'my bit'.

Good man!

 

[Amateur]

That is not the reason at all.

can you correct me please.

 

[doctor Bob]

Just back from my second day shift at a local vaccination centre in Shrewsbury as a NHS Volunteer, i've had two days of helping with patient flows. While there has been large queues in nearby Telford, we have had virtually no queues at all! I think it depends not only on the building and procedures you are working with but the cohorts that are receiving the jab. The last two days have been predominantly frontline staff and support workers and I was able to scour the car parks and advise people that they could simply go straight in as there was no queue. This insured the car park never filled up. It worked well and this centre was doing 400/day. A 75+ age cohort would be different though. Still we are getting there and I am proud to be doing 'my bit'.

I was so impressed with all the staff when I took my parents, it's a combined effort from the man in the car park who helped my mum and reassured her, to the people with patience who watched my Dad slowly fill out the form, the nurses and assistants, absolutely brilliant.

 

[NormanB]

can you correct me please.

Well to put it simply you are giving your opinion and dressing it up as a fact, when it is completely untrue.

 

[NormanB]

I was under the impression the hold up was supply (or specifically quality control) of vaccines. That said, though not faultless, I think the speed of vaccination so far is pretty good, beating most, aside from israel

We have more vaccinating capacity than the supply chain can support at the time of writing.

 

[NormanB]

saw an article on this the other day, apparantly, especially with the pfizer vac (which has the whole storage issue with temperature), if vaccines are left over at the end of a day / session, they could easily have to be thrown out, so in fact it could well be in everyone's interest to take a vaccine if you are offered it.

My local GP surgery has awful admin staff (not just a recent thing, I completely appreciate that there is a lot of added strain right now), my mother in her late 70s has been waiting patiently to be contacted about her jab, her neighbour in her early 70s has been phoned already, when my mother phoned up to find out what was happening she was told she'd been phoned several times and messages were left, pure fiction. Similarly, I'm shielding, and so should be getting a jab now, again, nothing. I take some comfort in the fact that the number that have had the vaccine is rapidly increasing, so at least the much fabled herd immunity is eventually starting to happen

When they make the call it is entered in the clinical record request a copy of those entries. It may also be very well worth checking what phone number they have in the record for your mum.

From the information you provided you are in Priority Group 5 and as far as I am aware (have not checked for a couple of days) they have not started calling this group forward yet.

 

[Terry - Somerset]

Germany will not give the AZ vaccine to those over 65

France thinks AZ may be only 10% effective

Macron and Merkel have now also learned from Facetwitter that it does work but for only 6 months.

Fortunately they have as yet failed to realise that the microchips seeded in each batch of vaccines are also programmed by Bill Gates personally to fail on 31st December - an inbulit millenium year end bug.

You read it hear first so it must be true!

 

[Garno]

Germany will not give the AZ vaccine to those over 65

France thinks AZ may be only 10% effective

Macron and Merkel have now also learned from Facetwitter that it does work but for only 6 months.

Fortunately they have as yet failed to realise that the microchips seeded in each batch of vaccines are also programmed by Bill Gates personally to fail on 31st December - an inbulit millenium year end bug.

You read it hear first so it must be true!

Don't care I'm still having one today

 

[Robbo60]

I thought we had surpassed 500k a day, or was that a one off push for the media's benefit?

Cynicism is a really negative thing. Figures last night were 480,000 for day before

 

[Rorschach]

Cynicism is a really negative thing. Figures last night were 480,000 for day before

I'd love to be less cynical and maybe one day the world will give me the opportunity to do so

 

[Robbo60]

Always be a pessimist - then you're never disappointed.

 

[Amateur]

Well to put it simply you are giving your opinion and dressing it up as a fact, when it is completely untrue.

The manufacturers are unable to demonstrate the length of time the vaccine is effective.

More stock has been ordered if it needs repeating.

 

[Amateur]

I read now so many developments being made on a weekly basis I'm just wondering when the first flu/ covid single jab will be announced?

 

[jcassidy]

The manufacturers are unable to demonstrate the length of time the vaccine is effective.

I just thinks it's important to note that the virus has only been around for a year, and the first trials started 4 months ago(?).

Suggesting what level of protection would be available after 6 months is only a theory which must be backed up by evidence, which we won't have until 6 months have passed. This is why drug trials typically last 5, 8, or 10 years. You can't licence a drug based on unproven theoretical results. Obviously the rules are relaxed when it's for a disease that's killing everyone (e.g. Ebola) or is destroying the economy (e.g. C19).

I for one hope, if the immune response is not long-term, that the current vaccination campaign will suppress the disease and this doesn't become an annual or bi-annual shot!

 

[NormanB]

The manufacturers are unable to demonstrate the length of time the vaccine is effective.

More stock has been ordered if it needs repeating.

As outstanding as your comment is, it is a statement of the blindingly obvious. It is impossible to know until time has passed and events have happened.

’More stock’ has not been ordered for repeat doses per se. The Vaccine task force effectively placed speculative orders on the understanding that some of the orders would not be fulfilled due to a failure to develop a patent vaccine. In fact there is no guarantee than any of the developers would be successful.

So, on paper, we have half a dozen orders in for approved vaccines and vaccines awaiting approval. These are all on different delivery schedules throughout 2020 and into 2021 and will ensure the UK vaccination programme is achieved with a substantial excess of orders ‘surplus to requirements’ at the end of that programme.

What happens to the excess stocks depends on events, time and data. If the data suggests prolonged protection from the 2 complete dose vaccination for all of the vaccines then there may no need to repeat the programme. If that is the case, then the excess stocks will be sent to other countries, possibly under the COVAX scheme. However, events have yet to happen and there is a risk that a new mutation that defeats the currently used vaccines emerge and presents a new threat. So everyone has to start again with a tweaked vaccine (which can be done relatively quickly ‘a couple of months’) and then a new round of batch production and a new vaccination programme begins. That being said events will dictate what happens to the UK’s ‘spare vaccines’ - the worst case is they may have to be destroyed, let’s hope that is not the case.

 

[NormanB]

I read now so many developments being made on a weekly basis I'm just wondering when the first flu/ covid single jab will be announced?

Most unlikely.

 

[Amateur]

Viruses like flu mutate every year. The health organisations monitor the changes and sit down and make the best stab at which vaccine will be needed with the monitored results/ evidence. They don't always get it right because it's a moving target.
If covid proved to be similar I see no reason why a yearly jab won't be introduced and probably combined with the annual flu jab.
But we are a long way off that stage yet.