GP giving vaccine to his mate

[LoafEater]

So an acquaintance of mine has told a mutual friend that his friend, who is a GP in out local area, called him up at the end of a vaccine session and invited him down to the surgery to get a 'leftover' vaccine. He went and had it, and is telling people how delighted he is about it.

This acquaintance does not really work (independently wealthy/lazy), is in his mid-50s and has no health issues. I am livid. My brother lives in a care home has not had the vaccine yet, and I know lots of other people, myself included, who are working front line jobs or have health conditions that won't be getting it for a long time yet. I see from the press today that this seems to be happening all over. I suspect, knowing this man, that this was pre-planned rather than a last minute thing.

Don't know why I'm posting this really as there is nothing that can be done about it now, but I found out about this last week and I am still so cross!

Don’t they have to throw away unused ones at the end of the day though?
Also it’s only one dose right? What’s he going to do when he needs the second one in a few weeks?

Right so would you rather the dose went in the bin?

Better than binning it.

I will add though that just because someone is lazy and wealthy and doesn’t work, doesn’t mean you should be scathing about them having a vaccine!

The aim is to get everyone vaccinated as quickly as possible. Far better to contact someone you know can get to the surgery in a very short timeframe before it is binned.

This is happening everywhere. GPs don’t want to risk binning the vaccine and so are inviting friends and family they know who’ll have it. Even people entitled to the vaccine are rejecting it or not showing up - which I think is more reprehensible as they’ll be the ones needing hospital support if they catch covid.

It’s not ideal but better than wasting the dose.
It’s always going to be a trade off - the more we worry about giving it out in exactly the right order the longer it will take to get through people.
You also don’t know if this man has health issues he hasn’t disclosed to you- not unlikely given you describe him as an acquaintance rather than a close friend.
I hope your brother gets it soon. That matters more than whether some other random person has it.

Would you not have had it then OP, if they rang you instead? Would you have said ‘oh no I couldn’t possibly, there are worthier people that need it before little old me’ and batted your eyelashes like Princess Diana?

An acquaintance of a friend of a friend

I know that sounds unfair but it is still better than binning it.

Don’t his is s friend of a friend who has been gossiping. Talk about Chinese whispers! Who knows what important elements of the story have been left out / changed 🤷‍♀️

Gps are grabbing people in Aldi's car park here, they don't want to waste it. The drs is establishing a stand by list currently here, over 50's only for now

Once the doses have been 'cooked' it has to be used.
I wouldn't even be arsed if they went in prisoners arms f the alternative is the bin.
Why they haven't set up teacher phone trees for the spare is beyond me.

Well realistically that vaccine at that timw was never ever ever going to get to your relative in a care home. Logistics means it was not physically possible at that point to get to any care home. So the only options is to conact someone who the gp knew could get there quickly, or it goes in the bin.

Even the logistics of starting to call patients etc would have probably taken too long.

Seen as though there's not a set process of what to do with 'leftover' vaccines, and it's not always as simple as randomly phoning a patient and hoping they can make it to the surgery within the next x mins, I would rather someone, anyone got the vaccine than them being chucked away and wasted. The only time it's an issue is if the GP is committing fraud by holding some back or purposefully not making enough appointments for people; as to which there is no indication is happening. With the process would be tricky to do that too.

We know someone who was doing some work (a joiner) at a surgery and was offered a vaccine at the end of the day else it would have been binned.
Often These vaccines are spare because someone hasn't turned up for an appointment so difficult to plan for. Impractical to expect care homes to make arrangements at short notice to transport someone to the GPs for the vaccine.
Better that the GP's mate had it than no-one, and it's one more person protected which is good for all of us.
I know you're upset about this and understand it but calling someone 'lazy' who is an acquaintance so you can't possibly know what they do in their spare time is awful. And being lazy or privileged isn't a reason for not having access to the vaccine anyway.

‘Why they haven't set up teacher phone trees for the spare is beyond me.‘

I really like that idea.

To get a call back for the 2nd dose you have to be on the system as having had the first dose. I imagine these people getting the left over jabs are doing so by being added to the system in place of (insert name).

If you're that bothered about it, why don't you phone the surgery for a chat and ask if there's a standby list in operation for any unused vaccine left over at the end of the day and see if you can get yourself on it?

Whether he works or not/financial status is beside the point. This person was able to turn up at short notice and I prefer that to the thought of unused vaccine having to be disposed of.

It wouldn't bother me one bit. Its ONE vaccine that would have gone into the bin!!! Better someone gets it, than no one.

@oo0Tinkerbell0oo

To get a call back for the 2nd dose you have to be on the system as having had the first dose. I imagine these people getting the left over jabs are doing so by being added to the system in place of (insert name).

You are added to the system.

@oo0Tinkerbell0oo

To get a call back for the 2nd dose you have to be on the system as having had the first dose. I imagine these people getting the left over jabs are doing so by being added to the system in place of (insert name).

Why on earth would they be added under someone elses name? Dont be ridiculous. Theyll be getting added with their own details, as the person whos had the vaccine...

Each vial of vaccine has a certain number of doses in it and once it is opened, they have to be used that day or thrown away. If the number of people who turn up to be vaccinated does not exactly match the number of doses in the final vial, there will be spare.

I'm in one of the much later priority groups but got my vaccine because I went to pick DH up from work at the vaccine centre and was waiting outside in the car. They had one dose left over and no-one else there wanted/ needed it so he phoned me and asked me if I wanted to come in and have it. On some days they have police etc who turn up to use up any left over doses but on that day there were none, so I got it instead. It would have been thrown away if I had said no.

I echo what PP said. It’s a strange system the government are making us use. I’m a GP but currently on mat leave. I can’t get my vaccine apparently as there isn’t enough to allocate me one (returning soon) however they are binning the spares daily. None of the other staff have had their 2nd dose. They are literally throwing it away rather than inoculate themselves.

The government has threatened to remove their license if they give staff 2nd doses. It’s madness, as then there would be even less people to vaccinate!

There genuinely are leftover doses, it's not any kind of scam or deliberate queue jumping.

I do question how places have time to call someone from home. Our leftovers are known right at the end of the day and if there are no volunteers or staff that need a vaccine we go out onto the street and grab people.

As the day goes on if we have no shows we tend to vaccinate carers who have brought someone or the spouses of a patient where possible.

By the end of the day we have 3 left at most, there is no way on earth anyone is letting them go to waste.

I was the last volunteer at our hub to be vaccinated as we went in reverse age order from oldest to youngest, but priority was always given to any person attending with someone vulnerable.