Is it right that Covid free Isle of Man and Guernsey receiving vaccines from the UK

[bunwell]

Whilst we are in the midst of this second wave, is it right that vaccines are being sent to Guernsey and the Isle of Man where they have no restrictions and are living a normal life? Surely they can wait a month until we have things under control

Actually the channel islands are a crown dependency. Yes we have our own government (I live in jersey) and our own health system but we are very much partnered with the UK for things like this.

Jersey got screwed up by the rich having parties. Several parties over half term are what have created this mess here. Its utterly shit.

Guernsey and IoM should not be punished for having an effective government's who have almost stopped the virus completely. Are they to cut themselves off forever?

@bunwell

Whilst we are in the midst of this second wave, is it right that vaccines are being sent to Guernsey and the Isle of Man where they have no restrictions and are living a normal life? Surely they can wait a month until we have things under control

Plenty of IOM residents were gleefully saying how life was "normal" over there, with no social distancing, theatres open, etc. If that's the case, they're not a priority for the vaccine are they? Especially when we've millions unemployed, theatres/stadia shut for months, etc.

I really hope that IoM is prioritising clinically vulnerable patients who have to regularly travel to Liverpool for essential medical treatment. There have already been 2 IoM patients die of Covid picked up when they travelled for essential treatment.

IOM is hardly going to take up even a drip of our vaccination numbers is it? It's hardly rammed packed to the hilt with housing estates on every sq metre of land over there.

They dont have fantastic ICU and critical care over there you know. IOM peeps need to come to the mainland for cancer treatment. How can they do that and then return home to family in between chemo courses for example.

Guernsey is the same. Alot of their critical patients, cancer patients and specialist treatment is in Southampton

YANBU. Why can’t they sort their own vaccine?

They are "living a normal life" by the entire island essentially self isolating in one big island wide bubble. They do have the occasional case, normally detected by compulsory testing on arrival. All visitors and retuning residents have to strictly quarantine for 2 weeks, no leaving the premises under any circumstances. And authorities DO check on this.

My 90 old father in law lives on his own there, he hasn't seen any family since February
He needs the fucking vaccine as much as anyone else.

And the islands are about to have several hundreds of Uni students arriving home for Xmas. Their protected bubble might be about to burst.

I really hate this - "well they don't deserve it this group does"-
PP have explained the situation isn't as straightforward as stats suggest - the NHS ability to care for patients is one of the main priorities & from what has been stated there is very sparse resources if this covid gets out there. How would you feel if they had to fly patients over to the mainland? Or hundreds died? As has been stated when the students come home & their families mix...
I wouldn't want to be the person who has to decide this - the logistics of this vaccines are a nightmare - I think when the Oxford vaccine is available decisions will be much easier & straightforward
I hope that this will be soon

Of course they need them, they can't keep their borders shut forever.

Same goes for NZ and Australia - would you say they can't have them either?

Why? They are (IOM certainly, not 100% re Jersey) independent and have their own parliaments, etc. They're not part of the UK

they are Crown dependencies and come under the UK for certain things such as foreign policy (they were never in the EU but had special status which has now been taken away from them and they didn't even get to vote on it). I think the least we can do is give them a few vaccines!

@BruceAndNosh

And the islands are about to have several hundreds of Uni students arriving home for Xmas. Their protected bubble might be about to burst.

I assume they have to quarantine like everyone else.

@goopsoup

YANBU. Why can’t they sort their own vaccine?

Because they come under the UK for things like this.

YABU. You know nothing about it presumably, just want to keep everything for 'us'.

People here are isolating for two weeks all the time. In Isle of Man you are then free from restrictions once completed and live normally. The care home persons children could visit and quarantine for two weeks and be free to visit, with no risk of death to anyone

By here, do you mean the UK? Because I can tell you, a lot of people aren't isolating properly. They come back from holiday, stay inside for 3-4 days (whilst still going to the shops for food etc), then decide it's over and start going to the park/work/school. These are people I know. Why do they get away with it? Because the UK government still don't have a proper system that ensures returning travellers quarantine for 2 weeks.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe on the IoM you get sent to a government facility or you're monitored somehow, and can get a heavy fine if you try to break quarantine. I live in Germany, several times after flying back from a risk area the health authorities got in touch to check if I was isolating/testing properly.

When I last flew to the UK, no one checked my passenger locator form before getting on the flight. No one checked my form when I landed. No one checked I was staying inside during the isolation period.

It's like saying NZ or Australia shouldn't get the vaccine until Europe is fully vaccinated because they've managed the virus better than we did. Other countries shouldn't pay for the UK's incompetence.

Dear God, I despair of the human race. We are really going to start an argument about who deserves the vaccine more than others already? It is threads like this that make one wonder if the human race is worth saving at all.

Why should they be penalised for having effective measures in place? Hopefully it will help them remain safe.

If you travel to the IOM as a non-resident you have to get permission to travel and give the address where you will isolate for 14 days. You are not allowed out during isolation and people have been jailed for doing so. On arrival at the airport they check you off the list, confirm isolation details and confirm that you have prebooked your private transport to get there. You wear a mask the whole time until you get there. They do check on you. The island is small enough that people will know if you break isolation.

While they can live relatively normally, they have to self isolate if they leave the island. They’re effectively in one large bubble and have been all year. There’s a general feeling of being trapped from the people I spoke to.

The population has a large proportion of elderly people, so they need a vaccine as much as people over here. The UK and IOM government have a range of agreements covering health amongst other things.

Yes they should get vaccines.

@Moondust001

Dear God, I despair of the human race. We are really going to start an argument about who deserves the vaccine more than others already? It is threads like this that make one wonder if the human race is worth saving at all.

I hear you! This is a dismal thread.

@MinkyWinky thanks for confirming that. It's called having a system in place, and the UK is sadly very much behind in that area. The IoM have managed Covid as effectively as they could, and that doesn't make them any less entitled to the vaccine than the rest of us.

I am in the Isle of Man. I have patients who shielded for 3 months and then another 3 months because they were scared to go out, who have deteriorated enormously. Friends who have to go over for cancer treatment and isolate for 2 weeks out of every 5 or 6. When you isolate either the whole household must or it has to be on separate premises.
The Island population is 86,000 and our facilities are in proportion to this. Part of the reason for our very strict rules is that our healthcare system couldn’t cope with a high number of cases.

Moondust001
You are not alone in your despair or your doubt about whether the human race is worth saving. I have to remind myself that MN rarely reflects my experience of real life where somehow most people manage not to start an arguement over nothing and also have a miraculous capacity to disagree with each without resorting to insults!

Have a good Christmas.

Honestly at this point I wish I lived on iom or Guernsey.

Please do your actual research on these places before stamping your feet

As I understand it it's not the vaccine that's in short supply particularly (in the UK) it's the practicalities of delivering it that's slows down distribution. If this is the case then send some to the IoM and CI would make absolutely no difference to when people receive vaccine here. Distribute widely I say.

This is a pretty low, despicable thread. OP should be ashamed but clearly isn't.