Vaccines - are we messing up again?

[Workingman]

The good news is that Oxford vaccine will start to be given from Monday, but new rules mean that the time between first and second doses for both it and the BioNTech version is to be stretched out from 28 days to maybe a couple of months. That could mean that their effectiveness could be brought down from ~90% to 80% say the experts.

This follows the claims from SAGE, NERVTAG and the London School of Tropical Medicine that we need to be inoculating 2 million people per day - every day. We apparently do not have the resources to keep to that pace, even over the short term, so things have to slide.

Well excuse me but the numbers have not changed. We have had months to work on the transport and distribution of the vaccines - how much of what goes where, and when. We have had the same time to train up thousands of people to administer intra-muscular injections, especially for the Oxford vaccine - it is not brain surgery. And we have had time to organise the clinics, appointments and record keeping.

We should have been ready to go at full speed at the drop of a hat.

[Kaz]

We should have, but it was always on the cards that we wouldn't be....

[TheOstrich]

And we have had time to organise the clinics, appointments and record keeping.

Looking at our surgery's track record, we'll be lucky if we get "called" at all ......
Hopefully that's just a reflection on our surgery and not generic.

[Workingman]

Step up the pharmacies with the news that although they have about 11,000 outlets plus trained staff they have not even been considered for the roll-out by the government.

If each one issued only 13 vaccines per day that's over one million per week.

What is going on in government and at the DHSC?

[JoM]

And we have had time to organise the clinics, appointments and record keeping.

Looking at our surgery's track record, we'll be lucky if we get "called" at all ......
Hopefully that's just a reflection on our surgery and not generic.

It’s not just in your area Ossie
My Dad was contacted by his GP by text almost 3 weeks ago to enquire if he wanted to be vaccinated and if so to reply ASAP (which I rushed around and did for him) and he’s heard nothing since. My 85 year old mother is with a different surgery and hasn’t been contacted at all.

The first clinic for the Pfizer vaccinations in our area was scheduled for the Saturday before Christmas and cancelled late on the Friday night, as of yet it’s not been rescheduled. It’s ‘hoped’ that it’ll happen ‘in the coming weeks’.

[Kaz]

Blimey Jo, that's not good Hope they both hear soon xxx

[debih]

I have to say that some surgeries are on the ball.

We were told on Tuesday that we had just under 1000 vaccines (between 4 surgeries) that needed booking for this weekend.

I have spent 8 hours yesterday abs today (my day off) ringing 298 patients to fill out allocated slots.

I have no voice left but we now have half of our over 80’s booked in for their vaccination.


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[debih]

And now the Oxford vaccine has been confirmed I’m waiting to see if we get a date for it. If we do, I’m cancelling my week off next week to go in and book appointments.

There is a real buzz around both the surgery and the patients that I have spoken to who really want this.

Out of the almost 300 patients I have spoken to only 5 declined having it.


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[debih]

Also, 80% is still good.

The flu vaccination is only 50% effective at its maximum!


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[debih]

Also (sorry, I’m going on) it doesn’t help when we receive notification on a Tuesday afternoon that the following Friday (New Years day!!), Saturday and Sunday are going to be vaccination days and we therefore we have 2 days to try and contact almost 1000 patients.

They (whoever they are) need to get their act together in giving a little more notice as to where the vaccine is going to be and when!


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