Are we vaccinating fast enough?

[SonicTheSorryRabbit]

Do you think the government is doing a good job of ensuring the maximum number of people possible receive the vaccine as quickly as possible?

Any suggestions on how the process could be speeded up? Should medics in PPE start going street by street in the worst-affected areas and vaccinating people at their front doors to minimise time and vaccine wastage from missed appointments? Also, infection risk from large numbers of people travelling to the same location to receive the vaccine.

@LondonStone. Hurray for your mum! The people on the ground doing this are pulling out all the stops.

Just interested in what could be done to make things go faster/prevent a single dose being wasted.

well of course we need to go as fast as we can I hope pharmacists can do it and the army - but compared to France's 500!! About 500 people done?

I like the idea of pharmacists and mobile blood test vans being used.

Surely if doses are at risk of being wasted due to GPs not being able to vaccinate fast enough (due to missed appointments etc.), it would be useful to have back-up in the form of mobile units who can go to pinpointed locations (for example, schools, nurseries) and administer the vaccine to the adults working there.

Elderly/vulnerable and health workers first, but if they don't manage to make their appointments for whatever reason, teachers, nursery workers and supermarket workers would seem like appropriate priority groups as well.

I come into daily contact with a wide variety of people in my work. Today I have spoken to a GP - who says there is so much paperwork it drags things out. That it cannot be a drive by service because of risk of reaction.
Literally within an hour I was speaking to ' a vaccinator' who is married to a retired GP. She has only done 2 shifts, she and her husband; both under 70, have had it because there was some leftover and it was better than wasting it and that the local supermarket near the health centre was scoured for more people to use up the remainder. She also said the 15 minute sit around time to ensure no adverse reactions are a major issue. Admin were doing paperwork, and she was jabbing with it taking little more than 1 minute.

The urgency with the government seems lacking.
I have a non front line NHS worker and a pharmacy assistant as daughters and 1 of those has plenty of experience of injections (type 1 diabetic). Hands on deck are available, red tape too sadly

[quote SonicTheSorryRabbit]@LondonStone. Hurray for your mum! The people on the ground doing this are pulling out all the stops.

Just interested in what could be done to make things go faster/prevent a single dose being wasted.[/quote]
With the Pfizer vaccine, you can't, pulling people of the street won't work because we need to know who has had the jab or we'll just be calling them up in the future.

The OxZ one can just go back in the fridge, so i hope Pharmacies will be on board v. soon.

I think the UK has done ok with vaccinations, its not fast enough but hell we have vaccinated over 1m people.

@SonicTheSorryRabbit It’s okay, I understand! I’m under no illusion it’s the same across the country and then it basically becomes a vaccination lottery.

You might get a well organised system like my Mum is working in or absolutely nothing and that really isn’t fair and good enough, is it.

I understand the logistical nightmare but no, not fast enough in my opinion. My dad is 82 and his surgery haven’t even had a delivery yet.,,

@HecouldLickEm

well of course we need to go as fast as we can I hope pharmacists can do it and the army - but compared to France's 500!! About 500 people done?

France has done 1000s now but its a glacial pace and one they'll have to dramatically increase.

Infection rates are far lower in france, they ve sent back kids to school, so they have some time but please just get on with it!!

We’re not going fast enough yet, no, but we have plans in place to speed up like the 6 mass vaccination centres in sports stadiums etc that will be opening next week.

It would make sense if it tied in with hospital appointments too
For instance I have one where I have to sit for an hour doing nothing so that would be perfect to wait in case of reaction!
Or outpatients appointments for elderly "while you're here, there is a vaccine free" type thing

The difficulty for me is going to be work, the hospital are doing them near me. Parking is awful, so I need 2hrs off work

[quote SonicTheSorryRabbit]@LondonStone. Hurray for your mum! The people on the ground doing this are pulling out all the stops.

Just interested in what could be done to make things go faster/prevent a single dose being wasted.[/quote]
Right now, more supply is the single biggest thing needed. There doesn't appear to be a shortage of people able to physically vaccinate people, or any issue of venue (no need to use pharmacies yet - sites than can vaccinate at scale are far quicker than your local pharmacy, though undoubtedly they will have a role to play further down the line), but if the supply ain't there, it ain't there. And that applies to all supply chain components, not just the liquid itself.

I regard this governments response to have been woefully inadequate at best, but actually, this aspect does seem to be going relatively well. Certainly better than the vast majority of similarly sophisticated countries.

People can't just walk the streets jabbing the public with vaccinations.

Logistically the 2nd jab is easier than the 1st but even then there are limitations.

The mass vaccination sites (race courses, standiums etc) are doing a great job but even they have had to follow h&s protocols, arrange appropriate insurances, do informed consent on patients, and of course monitor for adverse reactions.

Despite the various calls for things to be done better I believe they're doing the best they can in the current climate.

Could GPs "twin" with schools, supermarkets, nurseries and other big employers round about them? So if there are any wasted doses at the end of the day, they could work their way through a list of workers at local businesses in the vicinity. That way, it would be easier to keep track of who has had the jab.

For example: "Today, we vaccinated 560 elderly/clinically vulnerable, 40 missed their slots so we vaccinated 40 workers from the big Tesco next door".

Then once everyone at the supermarket has been done, they could move onto their next "back-up" location, for example, a nearby school.

Isn’t the issue lack of little glass vials?

"Today, we vaccinated 560 elderly/clinically vulnerable, 40 missed their slots so we vaccinated 40 workers from the big Tesco next door"."

So Tesco was able to spare 40 staff for around an hour? You see how it doesn't become workable.

I'm CV on the shielding list in my 50's. I could get to my GPs within 15 minutes, if they had a missed appointment. I'm sure many others could. According to the calculator I'll get my jab in February. That's what my Consultant said as well. They had requested to do their own patients and was denied. Two GPs have been on the BBC and said that they aren't utilising enough sites, as they didn't with Labs at the start. That might change which will mean better speed.

According to the calculator I'll get my jab in February.

Worth rechecking that estimate. My date is now estimated to be this June - was next March!

Why can't chemists, drop in centres and community centres join in the race to vaccination. I agree with Tony Blair, so much more could be done to get this rolled out faster. Normally I'd never agree with him but he's right.

@Saz12

I had mine this morning at nearby large hospital. A huge big conveyor belt: information leaflet handed out in queue. Then to desk where name, d.o.b and photo ID is checked. Then another station where vaccine was given, then move to a seating area for the 15 minute wait in case of allergic reaction. There were 6 people vaccinating, and I’d guess a group of about 50 or 100 with the same 10-minute appointment slot (don’t really know as there were probably people from the slot before and the slot after mixed in with the queue). There was quite a long wait time, maybe 90 minutes after appointment time, which is fair enough in the circumstances!

It’s a mass program, so nothing like the “normal” appointment slot with your practice nurse or GP.
The person doing the vaccination. checked medical conditions, if pregnant or TTC, explain side-effects, make sure you knew which vaccine e it was, etc., immediately before the needle.

You need photo ID to receive the vaccine?

That's me fucked then. No driving licence and passport went out of date years ago.

A lot of people don't have photo ID, especially from more deprived areas. It's very difficult to get a passport if you don't know any people from a professional job who is willing to sign hour application to say they vouch for your identity.

Blimey i don't even have photo id

There’s always a shortage of blood so blood vans won’t be able to use. And don’t forget the blood service are taking plasma donations for Covid treatment so already have an extra task.

You don’t need photo Id.
I took an elderly relative for their second jab today. It was absolutely brilliantly done it was very, very efficient and if we could do that 24/7 we could have the whole town done by the end of the month.

@LondonStone

what your mum is doing sounds great, but my area has got its first delivery today, our own GP surgery have 100 vaccines from that delivery to dispense tomorrow. They expect the same next week - there are 1000s of over 80s in the area, so it will take months at this rate!

My bosses mum lives in a completely different area, he called her surgery on Monday and was told the same story, 100 or so vaccines per week available for 4K+ over 80s.

Bringing Tesco or Boots in won’t help if the vaccines aren’t available!

RandomLondoner - I've been looking at that data too! 5th as you say for proportion of population vaccinated and with UK figures only up to 27th December against 4th/5th January for most other countries! I think we're doing well, and ramping it up daily.

The vaccine needs to be stored at -80 which is a limiting factor. When the Oxford vaccine comes online it will be easier to deliver at other sites. The hospital I work in had been approaching outpatients to use up vaccine at the end of the day to avoid wastage. I think it’s going well. Max vaccination centre opening up this month.

I agree, I don't think enough is being done and people who are trained are being under utilised.
I'm a veterinary nurse, would be more than happy to have a training session and crack on with helping the vaccination programme, as are all the other nurses and vets I know. I'm sure dentists, dental nurses, pharmacists, retired doctors and nurses and dentists, lab techs, and loads more people who are used to giving injections and handling medication etc would be more than happy to join the vaccination drive.
We're just not being used. Thousands could be done if they opened up a stadium or similar with volunteer vaccinators, as well as drafting in the army.