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?

@TheReluctantPhoenix

If there are these spare doses, they should be auctioned off

Don't be ridiculous.
The wealthy will get the spare doses in that case. No money must change hands in order to have the vaccine.

Not exactly queue jumping if she was rung to go and get it.

My issue isn’t someone getting it this way my issue is police and teachers etc thinking there more special than anyone else and thinking they should get before there group is due

@Twistered,

Why not?

The proceeds will help the needy, not mates of people giving the vaccine, who are neither needy nor vulnerable.

Weird sense of priorities...

Amazon could set it up easily. Vaccine centre puts number of spare doses in at, say, 5pm, you log on to Amazon, pay, print out receipt, and rock up 10 minutes later for your vaccine

How do ensure only people within 10 minutes can buy it? No good if fred in surrey buys 3 doses for him and his mates at a manchester centre. They won’t turn up and it’ll still end up going in the arm of a passer by.
How do you stop bots and scalpers buying it all and reselling?

Again, people can come up with all these brilliant ideas, and pout about being worth more than others, and queue jumping all they like.

Bottom line is, the most effective way to make sure spare vaccine gets used is to just give it to whoever is available. Whether thats a random homeless man, or the vaccinators sister, it really doesn’t matter.

I am sure I read that in Israel at the end of each day they vaccinate anyone who happens to be standing around outside of the vaccine centre to avoid wastage. I thought it was a brilliant idea

For some reason I've been put into cat 2 under the health and social care bracket for a vaccine due to my work. Tbh I've worked at home this whole pandemic and can continue to as I am not a front facing role, but why would I turn it down? Doesn't it get us all one step closer to moving forward and surely put me in a better position to help friends and family who are vulnerable with their shopping etc?

It's good for all of us if any other person has the vaccine rather than it being wasted. It brings the country one step closer to herd immunity.

@actionstationsplease please don't think like that. I had it Sunday. I'm 42. Everyone who knows I've had it has been really pleased for me.

Nhs treatment is free. Vaccinations are free. To start auctioning Covid vaccines just feels so wrong to me and against everything the NHS stands for.

@TheReluctantPhoenix

If there are these spare doses, they should be auctioned off, with the money going to charity or additional NHS funding, not given to friends and family or people exploiting glitches in the IT system.

It would be easy to have a website which people could log on to at the end of the day and buy a vaccine for, say, £250, or whatever the market could take.

If there were 10,000 spare doses a day that could raise nearly £20 mio a week, which could go to food kitchens etc.

The idea that those in the system should have discretion as where spare doses go is reminiscent of the old USSR where everyone was equal but, if you knew the right people, everything was obtainable.

Pretty sure we are trying to avoid a system where the wealthy can buy jabs

If there are these spare doses, they should be auctioned off

That’s one of the most batshit ideas I’ve ever seen on MN. Once we start healthcare down that road we’re completely fucked. Bevan must be turning in his grave.

Do people really think that this can be micro managed? That it can be worked out who is most worthy on an individual basis?

Seriously. We've gone from nought to millions in a few weeks. Speed is hugely important. People are in broad priority groups. There is no time to sort out priority for left overs. Just don't waste it.

Gp staff are spending hours as it is booking people in, setting things up and vaccinating. While still trying to do their day jobs.

@Bluesername

It's good for all of us if any other person has the vaccine rather than it being wasted. It brings the country one step closer to herd immunity.

Every time i hear that somebody I know has had it, I cheer. Every single dose is important. So pleased that people are having it in vast numbers. Can't wait for mine.

@tilder

Do people really think that this can be micro managed? That it can be worked out who is most worthy on an individual basis?

Seriously. We've gone from nought to millions in a few weeks. Speed is hugely important. People are in broad priority groups. There is no time to sort out priority for left overs. Just don't waste it.

Gp staff are spending hours as it is booking people in, setting things up and vaccinating. While still trying to do their day jobs.

Exactly!! The numbers of spare vaccines at the end of the day that are going to “non priority” people are a very tiny percentage of the total number of jabs given. Focus on the bigger picture. The important thing is a vaccine in an arm - any arm - rather than the bin benefits us all!!

Part of the problem is that the government hasnt widely advertised the NHS booking website.

When you go onto it - the website says you MUST have received your NHS letter to book.

This isn't actually correct, anyone in groups 1-4 are eligible and can book (it will not let you book if you are outside these groups).

So many hubs have spare appointments and thus spare vaccines.

If ANYONE knows people within groups 1-4 who hasn't yet had the vaccine, get them booked in online.

We don't want anyone being left behind because the letter is stuck at a Royal Mail depot, they missed a text message or a phone call.

There's so many free appointments! Let's get the people who need the vaccine to the hubs ASAP.

They are sending out letters to group 5 next week apparently, so there's nothing wrong with ensuring that everyone eligible gets a vaccine

THIS IS NOT QUEUE JUMPING - you can only book in if you are eligible based on your NHS records.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/book-coronavirus-vaccination/

They are sending out letters to group 5 next week apparently, so there's nothing wrong with ensuring that everyone eligible gets a vaccine

Yeeeeeesssss! That means I should get mine by the end of the month. Thank you so much for that brilliant news.

My neighbours queue jumped some how and I don't care one bit. I'm just happy that more people are getting vaccinated.

As a health care worker, and now vaccinator, I'm absolutely delighted by the roll out and the fact that my colleagues are able to administer doses to as many people as possible just now. Who knows the reasons behind why this individual "jumped the queue"?
It doesn't really matter, as long as the priority groups are being followed up, and the rise wasn't been given in expense of someone more deserving, which I seriously doubt.
Last night at the over 70 clinics, we vaccinated several hundred. Unfortunately there were seven no shows. We had one dose left, and didn't want to open a new vial, as we would most likely have to bin it.
So we asked one of our security guards ( who had been standing out all night in the rain directing patients) to come inside and get the last dose.
Everyone is deserving of it

@VinylDetective

They are sending out letters to group 5 next week apparently, so there's nothing wrong with ensuring that everyone eligible gets a vaccine

Yeeeeeesssss! That means I should get mine by the end of the month. Thank you so much for that brilliant news.

If you check the booking website every few days it will open up once your nhs file is marked as eligible. Probably before your letter lands on your doormat x

Thank you so much @Jinglealltheway22, you’ve literally made my day.

I know people who have had spare ones. They went to the local vaccine hub at end of day and got given the ones people had not turned up for.

I understand your frustration completely. We patiently await said jab over 50s group, both primary school teachers working at both schools whilst over 70 neighbours pompously brag they've had it and almost skip down the street after their various shopping trips out. Frustrated isn't the word...

You miserable git.
Do you know why there have been so many last minute cases? Using up the vaccine? Certain vaccination centres literally pulled people off the street at the beginning. Because it could've been better organised, true. It's got better recently. But else they would have been wasted/disposed of.

Your anger is misplaced.

"My point is it's not hard to find someone in groups 1-9 for a spare dose."

How do you KNOW that?

You are wrong.

Depends how she acquired it. If as a result of the dodgy link and she was aware she was queue jumping, yes I’d be angry too. If it was a genuine leftover at the end of a day and would otherwise be wasted, wouldn’t be.

@Snog

My point is it's not hard to find someone in groups 1-9 for a spare dose.

From actual experience it is. At our hub we are quite remote (which is good for social distancing and crowd control) but at the end of the day if we have vaccine left we can't just wait around for people to find a lift, make caring arrangements etc. If someone is able to be there within the 10 minute deadline then we will give it to them rather than bin it like we were when we first started.