Surely the need to get the vaccines out asap is on the agenda now

[Molly333]

Surely the need to get MASS vaccinations done now is a priority isn't it ?

Erm I think it is already is? I don’t think they’re deliberately going slower than they could be. What is needed is the approval of the Oxford Vaccine (🙏🏻🤞🏻) to really get things moving.

I suspect MHRA will approve Oxford as two doses, at least initially.

Yes quite

Yeah, before I don't really think that they could be bothered but now the SE is in tier 4 they should definitely get on to it.

@TW2013 I would like one or two of the front line workers administering the vaccine and working over Christmas and even in Christmas Day to respond to your comment that ‘I don’t really think that they could be bothered’.

Nc135

1. Perhaps they are all too busy.
2. Perhaps she was joking

@charlieclown ah now have read it as a joke. Thank goodness for that

Sarcasm NC135

@vickyq1983 yes yes! It’s early morning! Am waking up

In Dr John Campbell's video yesterday he said he expected the Oxford vaccine to be approved on the 28-29th of this month. It will be 2 doses one month apart.

I'm going to listen now to his latest vid on the new mutation.

Really dumb question here, but I've read that once we have the vaccine we'll still be able to carry pass it on, hence still needing to wear masks/social distance. So why do they need to mass vaccinate otherwise healthy people?
Genuine question, before anyone calls me a conspiracy theorist

Yes.

The limiting factor at the moment is rate of delivery of the vaccine from the manufacturers

The whole world needs to vaccinate, and beat the virus back whilst vaccination works.

The variant that arose in South Africa is quite similar to the variant which arose here. Who knows where next variant might emerge?

This is an aspect of 'we're all in it together' which really must not get overlooked

@EbeneezerSnooze I think they don’t know the answer to that yet hence they are taking the more cautious line.

Limiting factor is also getting 80+ to come forward, my local London hospital is tweeting for them to make appointments by phone. I assume to get local families to see & encourage relatives to get it.

Secondly, getting the people to do the vaccinations. You have already hardworking medical professionals already a tad busy, covering for colleagues with covid, have covid/ isolating etc

137,000 vaccines given in the first week. Out of 66 million that just isn't enough.
It's poor. I can't understand how it isn't top priority, over and above literally everything else.

Yep. Maybe shelve the school testing (and shut schools instead) and put all efforts into mass vaccination.

@Nc135 @EbeneezerSnooze

Yes, that's pretty much it. It's known as sterilising immunity (which is sod all to do with fertility despite what bottom feeder conspiracy theorists sometimes say)

It is not known whether the vaccines confer this. It is likely that it does, but there is not the level of evidence level required to say it definitely does

Will the vaccine produced in Belgium still get here now they’re closing the border.

[quote Nc135]@EbeneezerSnooze I think they don’t know the answer to that yet hence they are taking the more cautious line.[/quote]
Thank you

Are they sure the vaccine works on the new strain? All I heard from the press conference was that they don’t have any evidence that it doesn’t, which doesn’t sound too reassuring.

137,000 vaccines given in the first week. Out of 66 million that just isn't enough.
It's poor. I can't understand how it isn't top priority, over and above literally everything else.

I suspect the slow rate is connected to the vaccine's requirements to be kept at -70'C. Once the Oxford vaccine is approved, that rate will go up significantly.

@Riapia border isn’t closed in. My DH is on his way to Calais now to get the train over for Xmas. Everything open and working. He has just travelled through Belgium

Also stop sending uk allocations to COVID free regions Isle of Man and Guernsey whilst we are seeing such a surge. Their allocation can wait a couple of months.

@RealityNotEssentialism that will be one of the tests Porton Down will be doing right now. There was news in another thread that Germany has said it does work on the new strain but I don’t know how reliable that is and whether it is still as efficacious. But we will know soon. The scientists will be ON IT.

@bunwell

Also stop sending uk allocations to COVID free regions Isle of Man and Guernsey whilst we are seeing such a surge. Their allocation can wait a couple of months.

That doesn't really make sense. The aim is still to prevent deaths and serious disease, which means protecting the vulnerable wherever they are. Not locking them away.

It also doesn't make sense whilst we do not know if the vaccines confer a worthwhile sterilising effect