Covid vaccine

[Ilovenotebooks]

I had the Covid vaccine a few days ago and don't know whether I'm being unreasonable. I know the staff are working really hard but:

• The stewards were both rude and one snapped at me when I stood in the wrong place (it wasn't obvious where to stand). The other snapped at people behind me to not block the path (they weren't).

• The vaccinator (nurse?) didn't ask me anything other than my name and which arm I wanted it done in. She didn't ask if I well etc. She didn't explain any side effects and I didn't get any leaflet or anything to explain them. I drove home thinking if I reacted there would be no evidence I'd even had the jab (it didn't come up on app until 2 days later). It just felt rather unprofessional. I was in their 30 seconds. Literally 30 seconds. A pile of ready drawn up needles lay on the desk ready for the next lot of people.

• FWIW I'm probably just grumpy about it as I felt awful for 2 days after it.

It just felt less 'professional' than previous rounds of jabs when you had to hand paperwork etc over and got things explained to you.

The previous booster also didn’t work against the Omicron variant.

You're lucky you got asked which arm.
My GP started by giving me the third degree over how come I had an appointment (surgery sent me the link via text), and then stabbed me in my left arm for both covid and flu jabs. Only trouble is I'm left-handed and by 2hrs later was struggling to change gear in the car. Even now I have no idea which jab I had.

The flue vaccine is different each year due to evolution of the virus, not declining protection

And COVID is evolving all the time with new strains emerging.

And protect from the flu and COVID vaccines does definitely decline. As does immunity if you've actually had the virus. I can send you links to some really boring medical studies if you like (or you can just google them).

Also experienced a fairly perfunctory system this time. I think it is assumed everyone knows the drill, although it was a different centre to our previous jabs.

Same here. I wasn’t asked to sit and wait for 10 minutes afterwards either, as on previous occasions.

Told not to drive for ten minutes but there was nowhere indoors to sit!

Bitter people can do both you know. Have a jab AND eat a healthy diet, take vits and exercise outside. Some of us don't have time to be under the weather for a couple of days.

That does sound odd, OP. Never an excuse for rudeness even if you are a volunteer.

I had a booster this month and the system was very similar to other times: a person at the door gave me a leaflet about the jab medical info, and then referred me to an interview in a booth with another person asking me medical history questions (are you pregnant etc), then the vaccinator came over, doublechecked a couple of details and gave me the jab, then I got a card with the manufacturer and batch number of what I’d been given.

The main differences I noticed was the staff wore their masks under their chins, and I was told to leave immediately instead of having a 15 min wait to see if I had a bad reaction. I was uncomfortable with this as I had someone with me who’d never had a vaccine so I thought they should have been in a monitoring area. We ended up hanging around outside in the rain for 10 min.

But in general our experience was still professional and I’m sorry yours was not.

My flu jab at the GP took about 10 seconds. No paperwork. The side effects to any of the covid vaccines, if there are any, are much the same.

It is no longer thought necessary. If there is any immediate reaction it happens in the first couple of minutes.

I wouldn’t be amused if that was my experience either OP. They shouldn’t be drawing up needles in advance - it is against policy.
You should always be asked about your general health before getting any vaccine/medication. Yes, I know this may be your 3rd/4th dose but you might have developed a new allergy since your last vaccine, or taking different medications.
To be expected to treated with dignity and respect is not unreasonable, I don’t understand some of the responses you are getting.

The pharmacist always draws the needles up in advance

For the person told not to drive, you just sit in your car for 10 minutes before switching on the engine! That's what I've always done, & it keeps the vaccination place clear for later patients.... surely, that's obvious?

The idea is to get people vaccinated quickly. This wouldn't be possible if they spent ages with every patient, they do answer questions and talk to nervous people but it means others have to queue for longer.

i don’t care if it was a pharmacist or not - no one should be drawing up vaccines in advance.

OP YANBU. What To Expect At Your Vaccination on the NHS site lists all the things you were expecting.

@CaptainMyCaptain
Do you work in healthcare?
No one is asking for staff to sit for ‘ages’ with each patient.
This is how mistakes are made; if vaccinators treated it like a conveyor belt without asking patients general health questions there could potentially be a lot of vaccine errors.

My experience was not the same as yours. I had my covid vaccine booster (pre booked appointment) the other day. I went to a centre I'd not been to before. There were clip boards laid out on a table and white board pens to help yourself to and fill in whilst in the (very short) queue. This was then glanced at and taken away by the staff member once you got to the front. I was told I was eligible for a flu jab at the same time and asked if I wanted it today. I was then directed to wait on a specific chair until called by one of the 3 vaccinators. Then the admin person asked details such as name, address, DOB, told me which arm each jab would be in, handed me 2 leaflets and a new vaccine card with the batch number on whilst the vaccinator prepped the injections. Once I'd been jabbed I was told to sit in my car for 10 mins and left the room. All very efficient and professional.

I actually volunteered as a Marshall in the 1st/2nd wave of vaccinations. We received many compliments on how friendly and efficient we all were. It was a mixture of paid and unpaid roles but everyone worked as a team.

I'm sorry you had a poor experience but clearly not everyone will have the same experience as you.

YANBU I was treated like shit at my 2nd vaccination which lead me to not having any others. I felt like a chastised child when I left. Awful

We all know the process by now. They have millions of people to get through and it's already late October.

I think they are just under pressure, that's all.

Just sit in your car.

I agree @Ilovenotebooks I felt like I was on a conveyor belt. No discussion about the vaccination and side effects at all. Totally different from my first three experiences

I think the answer to your question is if your jabbed, you don't get it as badly.

I had mine yesterday, in a tiny portacabin next to a pharmacy many miles from home (nearest place - nowhere near us seems to be jabbing people now, I had to take DS2 almost 50 miles to the next county via multiple buses to get him jabbed recently!).

Like OP's experience, it only took 30 seconds. I was the only person there though. Asked my name, DOB and what arm I wanted it in. Went in and was jabbed a second after my buttocks touched the chair, told "You know what to expect, yes? You've had the other jabs before." And that was it.

I didn't mind that one bit though. Far preferable to having to queue 40 minutes, go through loads of the same questions twice and have to wait around afterwards. I may try to take DS1 there for his booster, as he's very needle phobic and if he has to wait at all he has too much time to have a full blown panic attack and has to leave before we get as far as the actual jab. He wants it, he's tried multiple times with me and on his own, but he says he needs to pre-consent beforehand and then they just run up to him and do it before he has a chance to refuse it 😁Understandably, nowhere is prepared to do that for him though.

I feel like crap today, mind. Had a banging headache since 3am, very sore arm, shivers and no energy. The last booster gave me no side effects at all.

You had poor service - I had mine last week and was asked all the questions, given leaflets, had side effects explained. That said, the guy did stab me a bit hard and I've ended up with a bruise because he hit a vein, but you can't predict where veins are going to be.

For those saying the COVID vaccines are useless and it isn't like 'flu because the 'flu virus changes every year - have you been living under a rock? COVID is also a virus that mutates very significantly and so evades immunity.