Vaccine queue jumping making me feel angry

[Snog]

SIL has been vaccinated already- she is a healthy 40 year old, works from home, no caring responsibilities.

It's made me feel surprisingly angry. I'm not clear how she managed it at this point. On a personal level I like SIL so am pleased for her but god I feel angry at the injustice.

I know some people have picked up "spare" doses but surely even the spare doses should be managed according to health priorities? Eg at least finding someone in groups 1-9 to vaccinate if not in groups 1-4.

AIBU to feel angry about this?

By having the vaccine there is, of course, the chance she might have saved someone's life. In that parallel universe where she did not get vaccinated she might have caught the virus and passed it on.
When the weather is bad and it is the end of the day there are not that many over 70's who would want to go out immediately to be vaccinated. If they have genuinely tried to get a reserve list in place and still have doses left over then they should give them to anyone at all rather than waste it.

To add I have NOT had a letter so yes, if you are group 4, try the online booking as it worked for me from late last night

@Snog

It was a "spare " dose at the end of the day

And she was around?

I know a few people who have done that. If they have been prepared to hang around on the off chance, then fair enough.

The centres can't wait till 7.45pm and then start making calls.

Meanwhile vaccination centres have all these vaccines and not enough people to give them to...

Yep. Booked for an eligible family member just before midnight last night, they had appointments for this morning and every time slot onwards was also available. Crazy when a lot are desperate for jabs.

YABU. I never thought we would get to the stage where people begrudged other people potentially life saving drugs.

That doesn't have to be the reality, they are supposed to have a list of eligible people to call in.

No they aren't. Hospital hubs are not supposed to have a list. They really, really, really aren't. How do I know? I am in charge of ours!

I can see why you're annoyed. However, the vials contain 10 doses and so if they have say 127 doses to give out, 3 will have to be binned.

They obviously considered the options to deal with this, and decided that getting in a reserve list of people would not be the best way to go, so I'll listen to the experts on that.

Sorry that you aren't happy with it, but if anything it's the fault of the science not your SIL.

In my opinion, they should invite people in multiples of 10 (not sure if they already do?) and if you miss your vaccine you get fined, then none are wasted.

My DH is CEV and he had a text message yesterday morning asking him if he was able to attend for a vaccine within the next 30 minutes. He was and he did. I had my vaccine a few weeks back, but I am an NHS nurse working with Covid patients. We are all going to get vaccinated sooner or later, there's little point in getting irate about someone getting in first, for whatever reason.

@Updatemate

That doesn't have to be the reality, they are supposed to have a list of eligible people to call in.

No they aren't. Hospital hubs are not supposed to have a list. They really, really, really aren't. How do I know? I am in charge of ours!

It's ridiculous how people can make up things and state them as facts.

They can eke out extra vaccine. It's by no means all caused by missed appointments.

@Backbee

Meanwhile vaccination centres have all these vaccines and not enough people to give them to...

Yep. Booked for an eligible family member just before midnight last night, they had appointments for this morning and every time slot onwards was also available. Crazy when a lot are desperate for jabs.

I checked on the off chance for my mum today and it let me book so I sent the link on to her and told her to get booked in. She'd still be waiting on her GP to contact her if I hadn't.

If you're going to be annoyed with anyone, be annoyed at those not showing up for their appointments.

The numbers missing the vaccine are really quite small. It more that people turn up and can't have it.

We only give Pfizer, and it's incompatible if you are on certain meds. And you can't have it if you have had a positive covid test within 28 days. And you can't have it at the hub if you have ever had a severe allergic reaction (you have to have it at your GP after a full discussion with them regarding the benefits & burdens or have AZ). You can't have it within 7 days of your flu vaccine, which some people are still getting. So some people turn up and can't have it.

We also vaccinate hospital staff who get delayed (in emergency surgery etc) and patients reliant on hospital transport, which can be unreliable.

@Updatemate

That doesn't have to be the reality, they are supposed to have a list of eligible people to call in.

No they aren't. Hospital hubs are not supposed to have a list. They really, really, really aren't. How do I know? I am in charge of ours!

Not all GPs are vaccinating either (mine isnt) - round here there are 4 surgeries covering the whole town, so asking there staff to co-ordinate lists for patients from other surgeries, as well as there own, on top of their usual work would be a bit of an ask!

You say it can't be hard to find someone in the priority groups at the end of the day. Is that where you think the vaccine sites and administrators should be putting their energy into? I'd rather they concentrate on getting the right groups in the door in as safe a way as possible. Many elderly people have mobility issues, limited access to transport and possibly don't use mobiles or are hard of hearing. Do you really think it's a breeze to invite them to centres and help solve transport issues? If 5% of vaccines are left at the end of the day, I don't care who they go to. These threads are disappointing.

if you miss your vaccine you get fined, then none are wasted.

See my reply above. It isn't as simple as that.

@InterfectoremVulpes I don't think any angry person wants to hear the truth of it!

It seems pointless to keep on trying to explain... yet here we are

@DianaT1969 just to point out extremely clinically vulnerable aren't elderly
A lot of us would be there like a shot and have cars/work nearby/could walk there

I don't care who gets vaccinated but I have had enough of everyone thinking ECV = elderly and lumping us together. There are people of 19/20 who are ECV

Also, say they have a list. And with 1 hour to go they start ringing people. Person 1 doesn't answer, 2 isn't able to get there, 3 isn't eligible and this has changed since being on the list (see list above), 4 isn't able to get there, 5 doesn't pick up. 6 is but by now they only have 15 minutes to get there and they live 17 minutes away...time ticks on and on and on...and vaccines are wasted.

The Pfizer vaccine comes in bottles, to which we have to add saline. Each bottle is guaranteed to have enough in it for 5 doses. It became apparent that most bottles have enough for 6 doses, and very occasionally 7 doses. But we’re talking tiny volumes - each dose is 0.3ml - so it’s impossible to see at the beginning of the clinic how many doses will be obtained from one bottle. We only get sent a set number of bottles per clinic.

So what we’re doing now is booking patients on the assumption we’ll get 6 doses out of each bottle. We then have a back up list in case there’s a 7th dose available.

Yesterday several bottles didn’t have enough for 6 doses, so we had to turn people away.

Last week I had a few 7th doses but none of the back up list were able to get there quick enough.

It’s quite tricky.

My Dad (79) and FIL (73) could be at the doctors within minutes. FIL still walks 5 miles a day, lifts weights, has a high powered role in the community, drives a sports car, is planning a safari holiday....not all "old" people act elderly!!

@actionstationsplease

This is why I'm worried about having the vaccine when it's offered, likely to be in the next week or so. I'm 43 and appear healthy but I have an underlying condition. I know if people find out, there will be raised eyebrows and judging. I don't want to share my medical history with anyone but suspect I may end up having to, to justify myself to some people

I'll probably get it earlier than most for a condition most don't know about

I just won't tell people. Why should you?

Bagamoyo1

Thank you, that's very interesting and clears things up!

Yvanka "and if you miss your vaccine you get fined, then none are wasted."

Or they give it to someone else. Being fined because the Tube etc was buggered isn't right at all.

@LunaHeather

Yvanka "and if you miss your vaccine you get fined, then none are wasted."

Or they give it to someone else. Being fined because the Tube etc was buggered isn't right at all.

Neither is fining an eighty year old person because they got confused about the date or were let down with transport or had a fall... with the disclaimer that not every person over 75 or CEV is physically or mentally in need of support and awful lot are.

And should have been but