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Original poster

Vaccine related- Does this sound weird?

24 replies

KindergartenKop · 12/03/2021 18:17

DH's friend rang us up and asked if we'd had the vaccine. We haven't. He knows someone involved in the organisation/distribution chain. DH's friend has told us that they are likely to have spare jabs and to come along to a pharmacy to get them tomorrow.

Has anyone got a vaccine in this way rather than through their GP? I haven't been given a code to book it, nor had any choice in the location. It just seems really odd!

OP posts:

Shufflebudge · 12/03/2021 18:19

Yes it’s happening but it’s wrong

lljkk · 12/03/2021 18:20

DD got hers a bit like that, friend rang her to say there was a left-over dose.
Sometimes hub volunteers get jabs this way, end of day left over doses.

I don't understand how it ends up on your NHS record that you had the jab, if someone gets a jab in this ad hoc way.

Original poster

KindergartenKop · 12/03/2021 18:22

@Shufflebudge should I not go then?

OP posts:

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General health

FishWithoutABike · 12/03/2021 18:23

Yes lots of people. Go for it and make sure not a single vaccine gets wasted by the amount of bureaucracy that would be needed to make it more fair

PaperMonster · 12/03/2021 18:25

Yes, many places are asking for people if there’s vaccines left at the end of the day. Better than it going to waste.

Original poster

KindergartenKop · 12/03/2021 18:25

DH has suggested that vaccine supply is out pacing the organisational abilities of the NHS. Also this is London, so fewer older people.

OP posts:

Donotgogentle · 12/03/2021 18:26

Yes, my neighbour rang local pharmacies and said he could go in at the end of the day if they had any leftover jabs.

taybert · 12/03/2021 18:26

It ends up on your record because there’s a central recording system which then reports back to the GP record.

In my experience there’s sometimes the odd spare dose which ends up in someone not in the current group (better than wasting) but to actively be contacting people to come down in advance does seem odd- we’d usually be spending time contacting people in the current group to get them down if we knew we had too many for those booked. The only thing I can think is that they’re having a lot of people decline and are struggling to fill the appointments before the vaccine goes off. Or you’ll turn up and it really is just the odd couple of spares, in which case I wouldn’t bank on getting one.

bruffin · 12/03/2021 18:27

The vials have 8 doses, if they open the vial they have to use all 8 or the rest get thrown out

Chathamhouserules · 12/03/2021 18:27

Better than it being wasted. Do you know anyone bit more high risk than you that you could tell maybe? In a public facing job (that might be you of course!)

Nacreous · 12/03/2021 18:28

This is likely to be that they have X bookings and the vials come in multiples of Y so in order to finish off the day's vaccine they are expecting to need to do a few extra people. Pharmacies are booked through the national booking system so don't have control over patients booking into them so can't just choose (like GPs) to have an exact number of people that matches a multiple of the doses in the vials.

Alfaix · 12/03/2021 18:30

It’s fine.
Pfizer goes off quickly. Even AZ has 10 doses per vial and once the vial is punctured it has to be used that day. Very difficult to book patients in exact multiples per vial- people may not turn up etc.
Always going to be a few spare doses and these need to be in arms- any arms - that day.
Just go with it.
Also you will be invited for dose 2 no problem. It will still be recorded on the system if you have it in this way.

Original poster

KindergartenKop · 12/03/2021 18:42

Thanks, this is reassuring. I have spent all week in a room packed with smelly teenagers so I will be pleased to get it if there are any available!

OP posts:

lljkk · 12/03/2021 18:55

@taybert , just out of my curiousity, since you seem to know...

Suppose a hub volunteer gets called over at 4pm for a jab, because there was a no show and the vaccine dose won't keep.

Does someone at the hub have a computer system they can look up the details of the hub volunteer, and something they can flag to make sure it gets on their record that they have had dose 1?

But what if dose 1 was Pfzr in January & volunteer is only 29 yo-- how will this volunteer get a 2nd Pfzr dose in April (12 weeks later). What is the mechanism to make sure that happens? What if the only 2nd dose available in January is AZ?

lljkk · 12/03/2021 18:56

ps: and what if the hub volunteer isn't registered with a GP, or if they are a student living in London but are still only registered with GP back in Yorkshire -- how are they going to definitely be eligible for 2nd dose if they are still in London in April?

Dementedswan · 12/03/2021 18:58

I believe for every 1st dose of a vaccine they reserve the second automatically. They know how many they have of each vaccine and have a system set up.

taybert · 12/03/2021 19:26

@lljkk not sure I can answer all the questions but I’ll try!
As far as GP sites are concerned there’s a central recording system so details can be looked up for anyone registered with a GP (even if not in the area). We’re manually inviting people so we’ve been inviting people for 2nd jabs 11 weeks after their first, and vaccine deliveries have been coordinated so that the correct one comes that week (this has been done centrally, we can’t choose what we have, but it was pfizer 11 weeks ago so it’s Pfizer this week). I live and work in different areas but just got a phone call for the second jab when it was time- I’m not a volunteer but I did get one of the spare doses for my first (though I was eligible because I’m a HCW) Once you’ve had your first the second is basically earmarked for you. Hope that helps!

bruffin · 12/03/2021 19:27

[quote lljkk]@taybert , just out of my curiousity, since you seem to know...

Suppose a hub volunteer gets called over at 4pm for a jab, because there was a no show and the vaccine dose won't keep.

Does someone at the hub have a computer system they can look up the details of the hub volunteer, and something they can flag to make sure it gets on their record that they have had dose 1?

taybert · 12/03/2021 19:33

@lljkk not sure then, I haven’t heard of that before. The hub should know, has she asked?

taybert · 12/03/2021 19:37

To be honest I’d just take the first dose and worry about the second later.

lljkk · 12/03/2021 20:32

I’d just take the first dose and worry about the second later.

I am sure that's how DD views the situation. I just wondered how are people being tracked.

IstandwithJackieWeaver · 12/03/2021 20:37

@Shufflebudge

Yes it’s happening but it’s wrong

Doesn't it stop doses being wasted?

FlyingBurrito · 12/03/2021 20:46

This has been going on since the vaccine programme started, I thought it was well known, it's been widely reported in all the papers

Far better to use a dose than throw it away and we're so far into the programme with such capacity it's not denying a vunerable person a jab

Kinneddar · 12/03/2021 20:51

If you get the first dose as an 'end of day' option your details are recorded on the system so they know you've had your first dose & you'll get your second dose in relation to that- not when you should have had it.

A number of my colleagues have been lucky enough to get it that way & it's all properly documented

It's a far better way of doing it than vaccines going to waste

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