Covid-19 vaccines and vaccinations

AR68 said:
Are people being told in advance of what 'make' of the vaccine they're getting or do people turn up at the appointment and then find out? Presumably it's the latter?
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It varies. My parents were both sent letters with an appointment time, date and place (a vaccination centre). The letter did not state which vaccine they would be given and there was no contact number so no way of finding out. They didn’t know what they were getting until they arrived for their appointments (they both got AZ).

On the other hand my GP surgery contacted me to arrange my appointment so I was able to ask which vaccine I was being offered. As my GP surgery are doing separate clinics for the different vaccines I was able to book into the clinic of my choice (so yes I knew beforehand which vaccine I was getting). But I have no idea if other GP practices are managing things in the same way as mine.
 
@JaneL thank you for your reply, that's helpful to know. I also feel that my risk of relapse from covid itself is greater than the risk of relapsing from the jab. I'm shielding until I get the vaccine, just wondering if I'm brave enough to ask my GP if I can have the vaccine now. I'm erring on the side of trying I think.

@Sly Saint thanks for that link. I'd looked at the me association website but hadn't found this page!
 
Not surprising since the MEA website was redesigned :(

I don't think the GP surgeries necessarily know which vaccine they're going to get on a day-to-day basis! Mine had started off with the Pfizer that day, then switched over to AstraZeneca once that had run out, I think.
 
So, I got off the phone from a friend earlier this evening. When I told her I'd had the vaccination, she said she'd absolutely refuse to have it, citing the rushed development, the very low percentage of people outside the at-risk categories - which she's not in, admittedly - suffering severe effects from it (Long Covid wasn't mentioned), and what she claimed was the fact that it would make people very vulnerable to the next new coronavirus which came along. Is there any scientific logic to that last statement? If not, I'd like to be able to refute it, which I can't at present. It may be that years of exposure to a lot of very "alternative" therapies and practitioners have influenced the way she thinks, and she has been noticeably anti-mask throughout the pandemic, but I'm not sure whether any of her attitudes have been based in actual science rather than misinformation.
 
I still haven’t had the vaccine! They keep sending me text messages to come into the surgery. We’ve told them so many times, Dr IQ requests, phone calls - the practice nurse said she’s put in a request weeks ago - when we’ve called it’s on my notes that the vaccine has been booked but there’s no date - message sent to management - but it’s just not happening?

Trying to get a referral to district nurse and district nurse keeps saying no referral has come through.

they only are doing in person visits, no one seems to have any idea what is going on with home visits.

I think my GP practice is in disarray even more than usual. :/ I should have had the vaccine by now. Have no idea how to even get this scheduled. My GP is saying he doesn’t know how it works..
 
@Wits_End

She is very misinformed. Unfortunately, it sounds like a lot of stuff I read about on Twitter. They also believe that the earth is flat.
In simple terms you could explain to her that we no longer see Polio because it's been eradicated with vaccines.
 
Wits_End said:
she claimed was the fact that it would make people very vulnerable to the next new coronavirus which came along. Is there any scientific logic to that last statement?
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No, quite the opposite. There is a reasonable chance that vaccine to one coronavirus will provide some protection against the next. There is no known situation where it works the other way as far as I know.

But I'm only a professor in the department of infection and immunity at UCL.
 
lunarainbows said:
I think my GP practice is in disarray even more than usual. :/ I should have had the vaccine by now.
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That is appalling, luna, I'm so sorry.

I had a phone call from my GP surgery to invite me to make an appointment at the nearest vaccine centre which is run by a group of GP practices at one of their surgeries. I said I needed a home visit. She said, fine, I'll put you on the list. 2 days later the nurse turned up and gave me my first dose. I think it helps I'm in a small town and all the GP practices are cooperating in producing an efficient system. It's probably more confusing in large cities with multiple mass vaccination centres.

Do the text messages give you a way of contacting them directly to make your appointment? If so, can you contact that number and say directly to them that you need a home visit, rather than the practice nurse trying to sort it for you, since that doesn't seem to be working?
 
The text I received only gave a URL link to book an appointment, what is on that link I have no idea as it is currently impossible for me to visit the surgery, let alone at a very specific time, or the closest vaccination center (as of a couple of weeks ago this was over a miles walk each way). I also couldn't queue, and I can't call anyone.

It didn't seem worthwhile to even open the link at this point, I'll wait until the bulk of people have been done (over 50s anyway) and then try, somehow, to get a home visit.
 
I think if people don't book via the linked site, their GP practice is supposed to follow it up with a phone call to see if they can help you arrange the appointment, and that's when you can ask for a home visit. If you are in groups 1 to 4 that should have been done by now, and if you have missed out you can contact your GP surgery to get a home visit arranged if you need one.

But as @lunarainbows says, that hasn't worked for her. We're still waiting for our GP to reply to a request that my daughter be put in group 6.
 
Trish said:
I had the letter after I had the vaccine!
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Yes, I also had a NHS letter after having had the GP initiated vaccine.

The vaccination centre was extremely well run, but I did note one little amusement. After having the jab they then gave me some information, which included a section saying important information to read before being vaccinated. Not a big deal though because it was actually info the nursed had covered with me before giving the vaccine.
 
adambeyoncelowe said:
In my case, I thought getting the jab in my left arm made sense, but forgot that I always sleep on my left-hand side (and roll onto my left if I try sleeping on my right). So if you're like me, and have particular positions in bed that are comfy, take that into consideration!
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Thank you! i would have made that mistake

chrisb said:
Well, I asked for the one with the microchip. The wife thinks it might help in finding me if I fail to return from a dogwalk. They wouldn't confirm that I was getting it.
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:laugh:
 
From the MEA site
NB: If you are having side effects from your vaccination, then please rest as much as possible and take paracetamol if you need to use a painkiller.
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So not ibuprofen then? I usually take them in combination for flu-like symptoms so was planning to do likewise for vaccine side effects but the way this is worded suggests paracetamol preferred? Anyone know why? @Jonathan Edwards would there be any biological reason for this?
 
Trish said:
That is appalling, luna, I'm so sorry.

I had a phone call from my GP surgery to invite me to make an appointment at the nearest vaccine centre which is run by a group of GP practices at one of their surgeries. I said I needed a home visit. She said, fine, I'll put you on the list. 2 days later the nurse turned up and gave me my first dose. I think it helps I'm in a small town and all the GP practices are cooperating in producing an efficient system. It's probably more confusing in large cities with multiple mass vaccination centres.

Do the text messages give you a way of contacting them directly to make your appointment? If so, can you contact that number and say directly to them that you need a home visit, rather than the practice nurse trying to sort it for you, since that doesn't seem to be working?
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No, there’s just a phone number to call the GP surgery again! The clinic appointments are done at or organised by the GP surgery. My mum called again today and they said the referral is with the admin team and should hopefully get to the district nurses very soon.. I think my mum will chase them up tomorrow and see.
 
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