ALL HAIL THE VACCINE PEOPLE !!

[IrmaFayLear]

Just had my vaccination at a hub.

It was brilliantly organised, everyone was very pleasant and efficient.

I am humbled. From the development of the vaccine, through its roll-out and delivery, many, many people have worked so hard and I am profoundly grateful.

If I hear anyone moaning and carping, I might just explode!

@ErrolTheDragon thank you that was interesting!

@RosesAndLemonade the stickers also serve another purpose, advertising and normalisation. I gladly took mine, photographed it and shared it at work and on social media purposely to let others I know and those in my teams that I was happy to take it. In some areas of the country we still have high numbers of people not wishing to vaccinate.

They are also fun

Well done everyone. Enjoy your stickers

Hi Cornetto. Yes my DH got the same so I wondered whether everyone else got it. I'm asking in case this will be needed to facilitate international travel in the future.

@Shehz21 I’d keep hold of it but I don’t know how useful it would be as an official document. Mines just a handwritten card so it’s not exactly hard to forge one.

@ClarasZoo

We don’t hand out stickers but we do have them. One chap asked for one and as soon as others saw he had one they all asked for one too😂

I paid for car park using apple play and so just shoved my phone in my pocket. It fell out when I removed my jumper and after apologising profusely was offered a sticker for it

Felt a little OTT but stick it on my handgel. Makes me smile every time I gel my hands when out and about to remind me a little closer to being a little safer.

I am keen to get going as a Vaccinator. I applied in November, I am now, finally, 3 months later, at the end of the application stage.
How have the GPs found the time to do all these vaccinations, including home visits? (For years we have been told how busy they are.)
So I am now sat at home waiting for a phone call from a potential employer.
I ave no confidence that the phone will ring.

have !

@ILoveMyBernina our vaccine group is about 6 GP surgery’s at 2 sites which doesn’t include our actual surgery but it says on our surgery website that as GPs / nurses take their turn at the vaccination centres that there may be delays at the actual surgery . I must say that I phoned for a telephone consult a couple of weeks ago and the service seems to be as efficient as ever

I wish, though, that they’d given me a sticker

DH's first jab was 'done' last Tuesday, he got a sticker which he wore with pride all day. At home, but he knew it was there 😀

The whole thing was so lovely, kind and efficient, a winning combination.

I had been concerned because he has mobility issues which he hates to admit to. We were directed to a spot right outside the entrance. We were asked to sit in the car until called. There was a wheelchair and a handrail, the person who called him forward was brilliant making clear that assistance was available but that it was absolutely up to him whether and what help he accepted.

Wish I could do the same without that tightness in my voice which harms back to the times he has fallen ...

Better to give it to anyone than waste it surely , I hope they had plenty of appropriately aged people on their stand by list

No vaccine is wasted and vaccination centres have very determined policies about how things are done.

People can be very pushy asking for spare vaccine (there is no spare) for themselves / their children/ their neighbour etc and it can be exhausting dealing with it and takes time away from processing genuine people with appointments.

There is a priority list to ensure fairness and appropriate distribution of vaccine. (I’m non clinical but deal directly with patients at a centre - I’m in my 50’s and have not been vaccinated- I’m happy to wait my turn 😀).

@ILoveMyBernina I work in a GP surgery. We’re all doing Covid vaccines as overtime and on top of our usual hours so we can still offer our usual surgery clinics. For example the GPs are doing the housebound on their admin afternoon (so not losing any appointment time), or doing extra hours.

I’m just back from 6 hours vaccinating this morning. It was a lovely, positive experience and I feel privileged to be a part of it. The vast majority of people I vaccinated were so pleased to be receiving it, there was a very jolly atmosphere.

Many older adults asked for stickers! I think they want to advertise the fact they’ve had their first jab. It’s a visual reminder they might be turning a corner, an end to shielding and a possible move towards normality. It’s symbolic, not remotely childish or making a joke of a very serious pandemic.

Here's a column from the Times mag which eloquently shows how valued those GPs doing home vaccinations are

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/spinal-column-melanie-reid-s59jcnj9f?shareToken=a9115e61340e1d32eaa088ff00898d2f

Congratulations to all those who have been jabbed, and massive, massive thanks to all the posters here who are helping to make this happen .

DH and I are in group 6 (he is disabled and I am his carer) so hopefully won't be too long now.

@FinallyHere were you allowed to go in with your DH as you are his carer or did you have to wait outside?

@pinkearedcow - at the hub I help at, a carer is allowed in with the patient yes.

@Nacreous

I really appreciate a thread with positive stories like this.

I'm working behind the scenes trying to make sure vaccines get delivered to the right places and that people have the right amount for their population. It's been taking 60-70 hours a week of really high stress work and I am just so grateful to hear about people who are benefitting from that.

Well done to you. Developing the vaccines was a world changing achievement.

Getting hold of the the vaccines was the smartest move made by this government and may well be their political saviour.

But it still needed organisation of the like I have never seen before to get them delivered into people.

@pinkearedcow

DH didn't need me to go in so we didn't ask. I was asked to stay in the car while waiting rather than even just walk around the carpark. I was happy to comply.

I would expect that people who needed carers would not be excluded.

Thank you @PilatesPeach and @FinallyHere

Stickers probably cost about two million quid 🙄 pathetic.

I actually quite admire their taking the risk to go for breadth of vaccination, giving more people their first vaccination by extending the interval between the first and the second vaccination.

It's big how it was tested, it's not what the manufacturers recommend. It's a risk and if it comes off it will be great. I couldn't take that kind of risk myself and really, really hope it comes off. I have no idea what their back up plan is if it doesn't come off.

@RosesAndLemonade

To me it just infantilises the whole thing and makes it, to me, less of a big deal than it actually is

But to me, grown adults getting stickers - to be honest it turns it into a bit of a farce / joke situation to me when it's actually a massive turning point

From the posts on this thread it's pretty bloody obvious that everyone thinks this is a massive turning point, and nobody is making a joke out of it.

@Moneyfornothingkerbsforfree

Stickers probably cost about two million quid 🙄 pathetic.

Only if they bought them off Dido

I agree with you @FinallyHere, I’m really hoping the dosing adjustments pay off but I’m still concerned about going against manufacturer advice (for Pfizer, I believe AZ have said theirs is fine).

We’ve purchased a lot of vaccine so we do have the ability to vaccinate with another one of need be but obviously this would stretch the timescales.