Can I take my toddler with me for my covid vaccination?

[hogu]

Struggling to get anyone to look after him when I have my jab. Can I take my toddler with me?

They prefer it if you don't take them but the guidance seems to say you can if you absolutely can't get childcare. I would make sure they are strapped in a buggy though so they're not roaming around.

I just had my second jab and there was a lady there with a toddler in a buggy, no one seemed to mind!

If I hadn’t had childcare I would have taken mine, strapped into buggy as others have said. And with an episode of something or other downloaded onto my phone for them to watch if needs must.

Yes. It’s fine. I work in a vac clinic and it’s not been an issue at all.

Roughly how long can I expect to be there? Just wondering how smoothly it will go with him strapped in to a buggy 🙈

I went today and there was a mother and father (both having their vaccinations) and they had a 3/4 year old with them. No one said anything. It took five minutes wait, five minutes to chat it through and get the injection, and then a 15 minute sit around afterwards. Very quick and easy :)

Ten minutes in total. If you drive and take him inside in the buggy, they will let you wait the fifteen minutes ( in case you gave an adverse reaction) in your car.

A couple of people had small children with them when I had mine. But I was at the centre (largish regional centre) for 45 minutes, queuing to get in, queuing to get the vaccine, having the vaccine, waiting 15 minutes afterwards in case of reaction from Pfizer... it was not a five minute thing. I know people who’ve ended up being there an hour or more. That said, I know people who had AZ at a GP who were there for three minutes! I’d say the absolute priority is you get the vaccine, but I’d bring an ipad/phone and a pushchair to strap them in. It’s not somewhere they can really be wandering around - it’s a lot of standing on specified spots, sitting on specified chairs etc.

It depends which vaccine you're having. If it's Pfizer you have to sit and wait in the building for 15 minutes after your jab. If it's Astra Zenica then you can leave straight away but can't drive for 15 mins so if you are in the car you have to wait in the car park for 15 minutes otherwise your insurance could be invalidated.

I would say just take a load of biscuits a really healthy snack with you

I was the for around one hour. Queueing to get in, two desks to deal with paperwork and a questionnaire and then queueing to go to a nurse who did the jab. Ours was a large one for the whole borough, I know of smaller ones when they originally opened for the first priority cases where you were in and out very fast.

I was in and out in 15mins max and mostly coz the systems kept going slow when they were booking me in. I had to wait 15mins in the car after.

I had to take mine as short notice (Scotland). No issues. Strapped into pushchair as securely as possible.

Lots of people don't have childcare for their toddlers at short notice.

hogu

Roughly how long can I expect to be there? Just wondering how smoothly it will go with him strapped in to a buggy 🙈

How old are you? With the AZ, you’re in and out in a couple of minutes where we are, it’s really very slick. People receiving Pfizer (our eldest, 27, for example) have to wait for 15 minutes before they leave. Either one, you shouldn’t be in for longer than 20 minutes all in if you turn up on time (not early).

I was in the building less than 2m but I was very lucky! But if you're waiting you can amuse him.

OP ours had children in with parents but like others, it was a good old wait. They had messed up the bookings - cancelled then rebooked a load of people - so there were quite a few confused people hanging about and very busy. Probably an hour all told.

I was there over an hour this week queuing and then waiting after.

I went to a big vaccination centre and was in and out of the building within 15 mins. They are very efficient. However, you are not meant to drive for 15 mins afterwards so be prepared to sit in the car for a bit. I'd take snacks to distract the little one. (The 15 min thing is nothing to do with the jab side effects etc - it's because apparently if you have an accident within 15 mins of being jabbed your insurer won't pay up.)

I took a 3 year old and a newborn, no-one batted an eyelid.

I had to take my daughter as my Mum was too ill to look after her that day. She was in the pushchair though, and luckily I was seen straight away and then could entertain her for 10 minutes afterwards.
Wasn’t ideal but couldn’t do anything else.

Our local medical practice gives vaccines at a drive through site, so you can take a car full of people if you so wished to😂

A man behind me today had his toddler in the buggy with him. Everyone was fine about it, in fact the volunteers made a bit of a fuss of her. I think his biggest struggle was the 15 minute wait after but he gave her the vaccine leaflet to ‘read’ and when she started to grizzle I overheard him telling her to ‘read it again’