To wonder if lack of covid boosters this Autumn is government cost cutting

[Hulabalu]

And if it is cost cutting , isn’t it a short sighted one? The more people get sick the more the cost to /,strain on NHS?

And wouldn’t it be sensible to “run a please be considerate and wear a mask if you have symptoms?” campaign . Not just for Covid but a cold / cough / sore throat ?

Because it isn’t actually as bad as they made out it was so they’re thinking of something else to control us with instead like digital ID! Let’s see if there are 1000s of more deaths from COVID this winter or something new instead! Don’t be so gullible!

Currently have 2 relatives in hospital with COVID.
I want to pay to have the vaccination but only if it will protect against the 2 new variants, I need to find time to do the research

Why for traveling? On a plane, where do you think the air you breath comes from?!

I’m immunocompromised and I’ve had my Covid booster already. But members of my household aren’t eligible now, despite getting it last year. So they’ve booked a private booster. It’s a lot of money to have it done privately when you’re on a low income but in our case we decided it worth it and we’ll do without something else to fund it (like stopping our TV licence). Some people won’t be able to and it’s not fair. Being immunocompromised, disabled or ill isn’t easy on you or your family, health wise or financially.

Nail on the head. My DH wears a mask in busy/enclosed places because he has incurable bone marrow cancer which will ultimately kill him and due to the lifelong chemotherapy he has to endure, is severely immuoncompromised. As a result of that, we have a very "small" life, no foreign holidays, barely go out anywhere enclosed in Winter, and I also wear a mask in Winter in enclosed places (and avoid anywhere that's too busy). That's not "inadequate" it's life preservation! Annoying that I couldn't get an NHS booster as they've removed the "lives with" and "caring for" eligibility for someone living in the same household as someone immunomcompromised, so I've had to pay privately. Well worth the £80 to try to help keep DH alive a bit longer!

The pharmacist who did my private one said that the private booster is the most up to date whereas the NHS one they were giving was about six months old. SO perhaps ask before you book your private booster to see which one they're using for private patients.

It’s complicated as I can’t give it a name (nobody has ever been able to) as a specific condition but my immune system stops recognising my organs and thinks they aren’t supposed to be there so it makes antibodies to attack them and stop them working properly.

Thanks, just spent 30 minutes on the phone to Boots spoke to 3 different people, none of whom could answer my question! They kept trying to put me through to the Pharmacy team and I kept getting cut off, Boots customer service at it's worst!

To be honest I’m quite relieved I wasn’t eligible for one this year as it always makes me feel really unwell! Obviously I could turn it down but it was nice having the choice taken out of my hands!

gosh sounds bad ,
so many people with various auto immune conditions nowadays
I wonder what is the cause
I hope there will be new treatments soon

Which is the up to date one ?

Covid wasn’t a control mechanism

No need to test I don’t think
i think it’s more important to just wear a mask if you have a cold / cough etc to minimise spread of germs

@Hulabalu I got a covid one with psoriatic arthritis, I take methotrexate so am classed as immunocompromised because of that.

My asthma has got worse since having two bouts of Covid, in March 2020 and July 2022.

I didn’t get tested for Covid the first time around as it was a few days before the first lockdown. Had antibodies test which confirmed I did have Covid. There were no test centres in Leicestershire. Nearest two were in Peterborough and Birmingham. Roughly the same distance. I struggled to hold a pen, let alone drive 80-85 mile round trip.

The last booster I had was 18 months ago

I am entitled to the covid jab but don't know why. I am 71 with no health problems except migraines which I rarely get now as I take daily medication.

DH although only 68 has diabetes and has had a stroke but he is not entitled to one.

We have queried it with the surgery but they are not interested.

I am not turning it down (going on Friday) but it makes no sense whatsoever

It’s quite hard to find an appointment for a private vaccine. Boots 10
miles away has one slot next week at a time I can’t do and that’s it.

The new strains sound nasty. I developed long Covid after a mild infection last year (fit and healthy) so would like to avoid it again if possible.

It’s short sighted all round. Huge numbers of people being ill for weeks at a time isn’t good. Each covid infection cumulatively increases your chance of long Covid so it’s not something you want to keep getting every year. People need to take it a little more seriously. It’s not panning out like we thought.

One should be at least able to buy a private vaccine if they want!

Agree with the PP. the NHs is using old stock that is less well matched than the newer vaccines that are being used by private. Both should prevent severe illness the newer one will be better matched to existing viruses and be better at preventing transmission.

I’ve managed to get one of the last free slots nearby. Just have to avoid catching it until Monday. Given that I think everyone at work got it in the week I was on leave I should be ok.

It’s particularly short sighted and inefficient not to roll it in with bookings for the flu jab. The admin has been done, the nurse is there, 1 trip and all done. Many people would decline so why not offer to those who want one.

I think one of the problems with appointments in pharmacies this year has been people booking them and thinking that they are still entitled. Bit of a surprise when they find out they aren’t and have to pay for it. It’s not cheap. I can afford it this year I’m not sure I can afford it every year at this price.

The vast majority of people no longer need Covid jabs, because it is not a serious illness.
Those that do need it, for specific reasons, will be offered it - as with flu jabs.
Nobody needs to be told to wear a mask because they do F all, and most are worn incorrectly anyway. Of course, any individual is free to wear a mask, if they wish.

Most of the population understand that the "rules" during the pandemic were nonsense, and the Government now has rather more important things to think about!

Masks as worn by the general public are a very poor way to reduce infection. A surgical mask or similar won't stop you catching the virus. It may reduce transmission from an already infected individual slightly, by catching the worst of a cough or sneeze and reducing virus containing droplets from escape, but it's by no means fully effective.

To significantly reduce your chances of catching the virus by wearing a mask it needs to be at least FFP3 grade and face fit tested by a qualified person. Anyone with facial hair won't get a good fit , so their effectiveness won't be great when worn with a beard

FFP2 is fine for general everyday use. It’s what most people I know who’ve never had Covid have been using.

My husband has heart failure and has regular Covid jabs, I used to be given one too to avoid infecting him but no luck this season. I'm 73. I think I'll have to pay for a booster, it's just to risky not to do it.

Last year they refused to give me one when it was first due and I managed to catch Covid before I was allowed to have one, pretty risky for my husband who, though vaccinated, can still catch it - especially if the booster was for the wrong strain.

Yep. Nowhere in the world was there a correlation between a mask mandate, and a reduction in infection. And lots of mask mandates probably came at the same time as lockdowns, in many places, blurring the evidence.

And I haven’t forgotten that Matt Hancock said “masks are worse than useless” before the big U-turn. And he must have been telling the truth, he was the Health Secretary, and a man of the very highest standards of truth and integrity.