Vaccine Progress, Approval, and Deployment

[Silver Cobra]

Book it anyway - once you've had the first shot, cancel the second booking and re-book. I had to book my second shot in Stevenage as it was the closest place, but it's too far away really. Since having my first shot I've cancelled the Stevenage booking and re-booked for Milton Keynes.

I see you're in Bedfordshire and I wonder if they're currently re-jigging things to try to bring some vaccines forward given the situation? Might sort its self out in a few days?

I assume you're in your 30s and therefore not eligible for the AZ vaccine which is probably also limiting the number of places being offered until they re-jig things.

I’ll give that a try. Though it seems I’ll have to try again tomorrow as Stevenage is no longer available for the first dose, with the nearest now being Welwyn Garden City or Ware.

 

[DelayRepay]

I’ll give that a try. Though it seems I’ll have to try again tomorrow as Stevenage is no longer available for the first dose, with the nearest now being Welwyn Garden City or Ware.

Keep trying

It says here that the local NHS are having a big push on using up AZ vaccines this week, so maybe they'll release slots on Monday once they've got this out of the way.



I had my first AZ shot at Bedford Heights - very well organised if you end up there.

 

[nlogax]

The supply of AZ is evidently a bit hit or miss depending where you are. I'm approaching 10 weeks since my first jab but my local GP surgery is apparently still awaiting new AZ deliveries so they can schedule second shots.

 

[matt]

I booked my last night at got the closest mass vaccination site to me and got the 2nd booked for August

 

[kristiang85]

I booked my last night at got the closest mass vaccination site to me and got the 2nd booked for August

How do you book your second? I tried going through the vaccination site but it would only let me book for next next five days.

 

[matt]

How do you book your second? I tried going through the vaccination site but it would only let me book for next next five days.

It gave me the option to book the 2nd after I had chosen the date for my first. It only gave me one date to choose though.

 

[kristiang85]

It gave me the option to book the 2nd after I had chosen the date for my first. It only gave me one date to choose though.

Ah OK, interesting. I'm really keen to get the second in the diary as my 12 weeks is bang when I'm booked to go to Portugal, and I'd like to get it a little earlier so I can avoid some of the tests.

 

[LAX54]

How do you book your second? I tried going through the vaccination site but it would only let me book for next next five days.

When I had my first in Feb, there was no option to book a second, and even if I tried at home it said I cannot do that, in the end, I had a text to say I could book my 2nd a couple of weeks ago, (11 week gap) when I was at the Hospital (in and out 20 mins ) they were getting concerned, they were saying that they always get no-shows or cancellations, but for the past 4 days it had been 100% attendance, and they were getting concerned about how many vaccines they had left.

 

[peters]

I didn't even know there was a vaccine for chicken pox. I think I was six or seven when I had chicken pox. Didn't really bother me. I remember the calamine lotion, I liked the smell of it. My kids were one and three when they caught it. They didn't seem the least bit bothered.

You can't predict when you will or won't get something you've not been vaccinated for. You could say your children were unlucky to get chicken pox at all but you could also say they were lucky to get a mild case at that age and not to get a severe case when they were just about to sit their GCSEs.

While it’s good to see that I can now book my vaccinations, unfortunately the vaccination centres nearest to where I live aren’t available to be booked. For the first vaccine, it offers Stevenage as the nearest place, while for the second, it offers Wimbledon down in London. I wouldn’t mind so much if I could have both at Stevenage, but having to travel as far as London for one isn’t really viable.

Are the ones nearest to you GP led ones? If they are they may not be available through the national system and you might need an invitation from your surgery to book there. If that's the case they might not have got to people your age yet or they might have only invited some people your age to book and others will get invitations soon.

I wasn't aware that AZ was banned for the under 30's, rather that an alternative would be offered.

I don't think it's banned, but if you try to book online and are under 40, the system will only offer appointments where one of the other vaccines is available. So if your nearest large centre is working through a stock of AZ, their appointment slots will be shown to over 40s and people who need a second AZ dose, but not to under 40s or people who need a second dose of one of the other types.

The official line from the government is while the number of people experiencing blood clots after receiving the AZ vaccine is extremely rare the chance of it happening is very slightly higher in younger age groups. When it's also considered younger age groups are less likely to get a serious case of COVID they think it's possible under 40s are less likely to accept a vaccine. Consequently they have recommended under 40s are offered Pfizer or Moderna unless doing so would cause delays. So if, for instance, they can offer AZ on Mon or Tues or Pfizer on Wed, Thurs & Fri then under 40s should be offered the Wed, Thurs, Fri slots. However, if the supply they have is AZ only and there's no Pfizer or Moderna likely to be available in the short term in the local area then AZ can still be offered.

Just another thought - the people booking their first doses now will be getting their second doses in July/August (depending on whether they stick with 12 weeks for this cohort or reduce it to 8 weeks, which I guess will depend on vaccine availability.

I wonder if some of the places currently being used as vaccination centres might not be available, come July/August as they will want to re-open for their normal business. For example I had my vaccine at a private gym. I assume that at some point the gym will want their premises back and so another venue will have to be found.

I think the 2nd doses could end up being sped up. A few weeks ago 1st doses were being slowed down to allow 2nd doses to pensioners to be prioritised but now 1st doses are being sped up again. Once they've offered 1st doses to those in the 18-21 age group then they'll be no more 1st doses. That could provide provision for faster roll out of 2nd doses or it could mean fewer days/times when vaccines are offered.

However, vaccine centres will likely change venue, that's already happened in some towns.

 

[DelayRepay]

The official line from the government is while the number of people experiencing blood clots after receiving the AZ vaccine is extremely rare the chance of it happening is very slightly higher in younger age groups. When it's also considered younger age groups are less likely to get a serious case of COVID they think it's possible under 40s are less likely to accept a vaccine. Consequently they have recommended under 40s are offered Pfizer or Moderna unless doing so would cause delays. So if, for instance, they can offer AZ on Mon or Tues or Pfizer on Wed, Thurs & Fri then under 40s should be offered the Wed, Thurs, Fri slots. However, if the supply they have is AZ only and there's no Pfizer or Moderna likely to be available in the short term in the local area then AZ can still be offered.

If GPs are sending the invites, that is likely to be true. But for the national online booking system, I don't think it's clever enough to work like that. I think it just offers the nearest Pfizer/Moderna appointment to people under 30, even if that's a long distance away. And the same for second doses - if you've booked a first dose which the system knows will be Pfizer, it's then got to find somewhere with a Pfizer appointment free in 11 weeks time (if you are under 50, it offers the next appointment in 11 weeks to meet the 12 week guideline. This may change to 8 weeks at some point in the future).

It's no surprise that some of the second appointment slots being offered aren't ideal given it's factoring in future vaccine availability as well as the centres uploading their available slots.

 

[Crossover]

I have booked my vaccinations from the ‘comfort’ of a 195
First is this Friday and second is mid-August

 

[Silver Cobra]

Are the ones nearest to you GP led ones? If they are they may not be available through the national system and you might need an invitation from your surgery to book there. If that's the case they might not have got to people your age yet or they might have only invited some people your age to book and others will get invitations soon.

Of the two nearest vaccination centres to me, one is the local GP surgery and the other is at the Central Bedfordshire Council offices at Chicksands. When I helped my mum book her vaccinations through the NHS website back in February, the CBC offices were available as a location to book, which is why I was hoping the location would still be available through the NHS website now.

I did a random lookup again around midday today and Biggleswade did appear as a location I could select. Although, as soon as I selected it, it listed no slots available. The next nearest after that at time time was St Albans, which is definitely a no-go.

**EDIT: I checked it again just now, and luckily the CBC offices at Chicksands were available for both vaccinations. I'm booked to visit this Thursday for the first and August 12th for the second.

 

[Reliablebeam]

A lot of my fellow colleagues in our late 30s were booked in the GP run program about two weeks ago. I was told by one of the staff at the local centre in our civic hall that basically as soon as the 40somethings could book, they all ended up in the big vaccination centres like Madjeski, Kassam, Heathrow etc. That meant the local GPs had a lot of the Pfizer vaccine begging and fired it down the age groups..

 

[nlogax]

The supply of AZ is evidently a bit hit or miss depending where you are. I'm approaching 10 weeks since my first jab but my local GP surgery is apparently still awaiting new AZ deliveries so they can schedule second shots.

Quoting myself but an hour after I typed that my surgery sent me a text confirming second jab is happening on Tuesday..

 

[Simon11]

So booked my first appointment on the NHS website, with Wembley 8 miles away the best option for a few days time.

However, it forces you to book your second vaccination. Wembley and no other close venues available. The nearest available for August from North West London was Battersea and Stratford…

I wont be travelling the other side of London for the jab and hope to rearrange it. I am sure there are lots of people in my shoes forced to book a second vaccination that they will never go to as the system wont let you book a first jab only.

 

[Adam Williams]

It's all a bit of a postcode lottery at the minute.

I (24) got unblinded from my clinical trial (got the placebo, it turns out) at the start of this week and got my first dose of Pfizer from a local GP surgery which had spare stock it needed to use up.
They managed to give it out to quite a few of the university community incl. undergrads.

 

[bramling]

So booked my first appointment on the NHS website, with Wembley 8 miles away the best option for a few days time.

However, it forces you to book your second vaccination. Wembley and no other close venues available. The nearest available for August from North West London was Battersea and Stratford…

I wont be travelling the other side of London for the jab and hope to rearrange it. I am sure there are lots of people in my shoes forced to book a second vaccination that they will never go to as the system wont let you book a first jab only.

I got my vaccine invite in the post this morning. Having given it a fair bit of thought in recent days ... decided I won’t be taking it up for the foreseeable future.

 

[HSTEd]

I am apparently being microchipped on the Glorious First of June.

I may celebrate by attempting to steal a French grain convoy, failing and then settle for smashing up the french fleet instead

 

[Yew]

I am apparently being microchipped on the Glorious First of June.

I may celebrate by attempting to steal a French grain convoy, failing and then settle for smashing up the french fleet instead

Do you have to quarantine if you lead a naval victory?

 

[HSTEd]

Do you have to quarantine if you lead a naval victory?

I think I'm allowed to serve the quarantine during the time afloat before returning to port!

 

[Smidster]

I got my vaccine invite in the post this morning. Having given it a fair bit of thought in recent days ... decided I won’t be taking it up for the foreseeable future.

I am very much in the same boat.

I am now in the age range so technically eligible (though having not been registered with a GP for many years the system doesn't work and I am reluctant to try and register with one partly as I am away from home at the moment, and will be for the next 7 or so weeks, and partly as most seem to want you to have "introductory appointments")

The key question for me is going to be just how restricted is life going to be if you don't take them up on it - Just how much are they going to stop the "unclean" from being in society?

And for the record I think it is an absolute scientific miracle that we are where we are and absolutely 100% support vaccinations - It is though still a medical treatment.

 

[yorksrob]

What are these 'introductory appointments' ?

I was just told the time and the place and got given it.

 

[Djgr]

I am very much in the same boat.

I am now in the age range so technically eligible (though having not been registered with a GP for many years the system doesn't work and I am reluctant to try and register with one partly as I am away from home at the moment, and will be for the next 7 or so weeks, and partly as most seem to want you to have "introductory appointments")

The key question for me is going to be just how restricted is life going to be if you don't take them up on it - Just how much are they going to stop the "unclean" from being in society?

And for the record I think it is an absolute scientific miracle that we are where we are and absolutely 100% support vaccinations - It is though still a medical treatment.

You don't need to go via a GP. You can simply book online. It is no more complicated that purchasing a rail ticket.

 

[yorksrob]

You don't need to go via a GP. You can simply book online. It is no more complicated that purchasing a train ticket.

Oh my, do you go AP, or off-peak. Is it route Pfizer etc......

 

[peters]

BBC reporting this morning that Pfizer and AZ...

were only 33% effective against the Indian variant three weeks after the first dose.
This compared with 50% effectiveness against the Kent variant.
The Pfizer vaccine was found to be 88% effective at stopping symptomatic disease from the Indian variant two weeks after the second dose, compared with 93% effectiveness against the Kent variant.
The AstraZeneca jab was 60% effective against the Indian variant, compared with 66% against the Kent variant.

Covid: Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs work against Indian variant - study

They are effective against symptomatic disease but protection is low after only one dose, a study says.

www.bbc.co.uk

The case for delaying the next stage of reopening is looking strong unless 2nd doses can be delivered faster.

What are these 'introductory appointments' ?

I was just told the time and the place and got given it.

I think he means introductory appointment for registering with a new GP, which you don't need if you request to see a local GP as someone who is resident elsewhere and only visiting the area. It is a bit strange if you move every 3 years then you get a nurse checking your weight/height, blood pressure, the pH of your urine etc. but if you remain with the same practice you don't get those checks routinely.

If GPs are sending the invites, that is likely to be true. But for the national online booking system, I don't think it's clever enough to work like that. I think it just offers the nearest Pfizer/Moderna appointment to people under 30, even if that's a long distance away. And the same for second doses - if you've booked a first dose which the system knows will be Pfizer, it's then got to find somewhere with a Pfizer appointment free in 11 weeks time (if you are under 50, it offers the next appointment in 11 weeks to meet the 12 week guideline. This may change to 8 weeks at some point in the future).

It's no surprise that some of the second appointment slots being offered aren't ideal given it's factoring in future vaccine availability as well as the centres uploading their available slots.

Yes realistically if the government keeps changing the criteria for vaccination at short notice it doesn't give time to implement new features to the national booking system and to ensure they are tested properly before the changes go live.

That makes a lot of sense. My parents would have got to their vaccinations if they'd been 80 miles away and had to get a taxi. In their 70s they have to take Covid somewhat seriously because there's a significant genuine risk to their health, and as such they wanted to be able to stop hiding away and wasting the rest of their life.

My risk profile in my 40s is such that I've not been particularly personally worried at all, and have had a chance to watch the success of the vaccines in older people make the second half of the vaccine programme a bit unecessary. In those circumstances I would have been unwilling to travel a long way, and certainly wouldn't have messed around with taxis just to use the stupid drive-thru appointment they initially gave me.

I've seen reported in Cheshire that the CHAW GP partnership (Chelford, Handforth, Alderley Edge and Wilmslow) are saying those under 40 are to book 1st vaccinations at the mass vaccination at Alderley Park

Dr Amar Ahmed, Partner at Wilmslow Health Centre, said "As GP surgeries in Chelford, Handforth, Alderley Edge and Wilmslow (CHAW PCN) concentrate on completing second doses to the most vulnerable patient populations, the Alderley Park team is providing lots of capacity to ensure that 1st doses are still being administered to younger patients with minimal delay."

All over 30s now urged to book vaccination at Alderley Park - wilmslow.co.uk

www.wilmslow.co.uk

That seems to be presuming the older people are the ones who can't get to Alderley Park. The site is served by the 130 bus between Macclesfield and Handforth via Alderley Edge and Wilmslow but the bus only runs hourly Mon to Fri, 2 hourly Sat and not at all on Sun. Getting between Chelford and the mass vaccination site requires a change of bus. While there may be some fitter under 40s who'll think Alderley Park is a distance which can cycled, it does make it awkward for the rest who don't have cars. I would say a 67 year old is probably less likely to be inconvenienced by potentially having to wait 50 minutes for a bus back afterwards than a 35 year old. There's also currently an exemption from the normal pre-09:30 charge for bus pass holders to use the bus due to COVID vaccinations.

Also interesting that Alderley Park have their own booking site which appears to be open to anyone to use, not just those in the CHAW area: https://alderleypark.nhsbookings.com/v2/ Not sure whether or not that site appears on the national system?

As it happens I'm not sure I'd have accepted an appointment at the start of the working week if I'd realised the side effects were as common and as unpleasant as they are - we lost 0 days to actual Covid in our company, but we've lost an average of 1.5 days for every single person who's had the jab.

One of my old school friends works at Manchester Uni, so is close to a big mass vaccination site, posted on Facebook that he originally had a 1st jab booked for the day before he had something planned but rebooked it for the day after in case he had any side effects. It prompted some people to respond saying Sunday is the best day to get one, as if you get ill then you're ill on a working day.

 

[Jonny]

To be fair, if Corbyn's pushing a zero Covid/heavily pro-restriction line (as has been reported) at the same time as refusing vaccination, he ought to justify that position.

Two things, as someone who does not see much benefit (at this time) I am passing on the vaccine (but thankyou for the offer), and as far as I am concerned it is a case of decline rather than refuse. However something I am very much against is restrictions anyway, especially if their continued use or the threat thereof could be seen as coercion.

 

[Darandio]

You don't need to go via a GP. You can simply book online. It is no more complicated that purchasing a rail ticket.

And get offered locations nowhere near where you live. It's far from simple in that respect.

 

[westv]

And get offered locations nowhere near where you live. It's far from simple in that respect.

Back in March I had to try over several days to get the time/location I wanted.

 

[Darandio]

Back in March I had to try over several days to get the time/location I wanted.

I'm still trying. The closest i've been offered is Darlington and i'm not travelling there for a vaccine. Partner got her invite on Thursday, it's offering her Darlington as well.

 

[yorksrob]

BBC reporting this morning that Pfizer and AZ...

Covid: Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs work against Indian variant - study

They are effective against symptomatic disease but protection is low after only one dose, a study says.

www.bbc.co.uk

The case for delaying the next stage of reopening is looking strong unless 2nd doses can be delivered faster.



I think he means introductory appointment for registering with a new GP, which you don't need if you request to see a local GP as someone who is resident elsewhere and only visiting the area. It is a bit strange if you move every 3 years then you get a nurse checking your weight/height, blood pressure, the pH of your urine etc. but if you remain with the same practice you don't get those checks routinely.



Yes realistically if the government keeps changing the criteria for vaccination at short notice it doesn't give time to implement new features to the national booking system and to ensure they are tested properly before the changes go live.



I've seen reported in Cheshire that the CHAW GP partnership (Chelford, Handforth, Alderley Edge and Wilmslow) are saying those under 40 are to book 1st vaccinations at the mass vaccination at Alderley Park

All over 30s now urged to book vaccination at Alderley Park - wilmslow.co.uk

www.wilmslow.co.uk

That seems to be presuming the older people are the ones who can't get to Alderley Park. The site is served by the 130 bus between Macclesfield and Handforth via Alderley Edge and Wilmslow but the bus only runs hourly Mon to Fri, 2 hourly Sat and not at all on Sun. Getting between Chelford and the mass vaccination site requires a change of bus. While there may be some fitter under 40s who'll think Alderley Park is a distance which can cycled, it does make it awkward for the rest who don't have cars. I would say a 67 year old is probably less likely to be inconvenienced by potentially having to wait 50 minutes for a bus back afterwards than a 35 year old. There's also currently an exemption from the normal pre-09:30 charge for bus pass holders to use the bus due to COVID vaccinations.

Also interesting that Alderley Park have their own booking site which appears to be open to anyone to use, not just those in the CHAW area: https://alderleypark.nhsbookings.com/v2/ Not sure whether or not that site appears on the national system?



One of my old school friends works at Manchester Uni, so is close to a big mass vaccination site, posted on Facebook that he originally had a 1st jab booked for the day before he had something planned but rebooked it for the day after in case he had any side effects. It prompted some people to respond saying Sunday is the best day to get one, as if you get ill then you're ill on a working day.

Ah thanks. Yes, it's worth registering with your local surgery.