Spare vaccines going in the bin

[FlamingGreatGalaahs]

My friend works in a GP surgery & says that because so many older people are refusing their vaccines (1 in 4 apparently) that lots are going to waste.

Why the hell are they not giving them to teachers so we can get schools back open?!

Am I missing something here?!

Gp’s try to give out unused vaccines but the time limit is tight, one case was 10 minutes to get to venue. In the big vaccine centres the volunteers get vaccinated and also call nearby clinics

I don’t see how people refusing the jab would lead to this sort of wastage anyway. You ring someone up and say “it’s your turn for the jab, would you like to make an appointment next week?” They say “no I don’t want it”, you move on to the next person on the list. You end up with an appointment book full of people who have decided they do want the jab.

You’ll get some no shows anyway due to illness, cars breaking down, icy roads, undiagnosed dementia meaning they can’t manage their diary, and the occasional person who thought they wanted it but then saw something scary on Facebook that morning. But most vaccine-refusers won’t lead to wasted vaccines because they won’t make the appointment in the first place.

One case was 10 minutes to get to venue

I could be at my GP surgery in 30 seconds if I ran. It's frustrating to think of vaccines going to waste.

There is presumably a problem with getting vaccines from missed appointments into arms because eventually all the receptionists/admin staff/cops/mates who live just round the corner will have been called in, so the vaccination centres will need to be more proactive in setting up standby lists (I’m sure many of them already are).

The steady stream of people bringing in their relatives will always be a good recipient of spare vaccines, but only a limited number of them will still be around at the end of the session.

A lot of unsubstantiated claims here. If people know this is happening, then provide names, places, dates and report it. The papers would be thrilled to have that evidence. If not it is gossip, and anyone can make anything up they want - doesn't make it true.

OP seems to have vanished...... surprise, surprise....

LApprentiSorcier

*One case was 10 minutes to get to venue

I could be at my GP surgery in 30 seconds if I ran. It's frustrating to think of vaccines going to waste*

They are not going to waste

Plus it isn’t the 30seconds of you running. It’s the ringing round to find who’s available, working out who lives closest and can get there, phoning people who don’t answer, are in tesco’s, or at work that takes time. 10 phone calls down a list, 10-15 minutes, and you’ve probably only got one or two people that can be there in time.

Which is why it’s generally Police getting any spares. One phone call and you can have 10 or 20 officers/staff there in under 5 minutes. It’s guaranteed and doesn’t waste time.

@LApprentiSorcier

One case was 10 minutes to get to venue

I could be at my GP surgery in 30 seconds if I ran. It's frustrating to think of vaccines going to waste.

But they aren't though.

But they aren't though.

How does the 'person on the street' know what to believe, when there are so many conflicting pieces of information flying round about this issue?

Are these posts from Russian bots or something?

It is the same pile of utter fabrication disguised as an innocent question every time.

@LApprentiSorcier

But they aren't though.

How does the 'person on the street' know what to believe, when there are so many conflicting pieces of information flying round about this issue?

They could develop the necessary discrimination that every grown adult should already have, for a start.

Exactly @Haffiana

They could develop the necessary discrimination that every grown adult should already have, for a start.

But on what basis?

My children literally have whole lessons at school about how to know what information to believe and what not too. For a tiny flavour, see [[https://twitter.com/fullfact/status/1359098468258693120?s=21 this tweet from FullFact (fact checking organisation) yesterday about how to critically look at information to determine what’s accurate and what’s not.

Link fail!

link here

More advice from BBC Bitesize about how to tell what is real and what is fake.

I'm not on Twitter, but thank you anyway.

You don’t need to be on Twitter to read tweets and see the embedded videos.

@StrangerHereMyself

You don’t need to be on Twitter to read tweets and see the embedded videos.

I prefer not to connect to Twitter, Facebook etc. I don't want anything to do with them.

More advice on how to spot fake news, not via Twitter:

here

here

here

And the BBC Bitesize link above too.

@FlamingGreatGalaahs

My friend works in a GP surgery & says that because so many older people are refusing their vaccines (1 in 4 apparently) that lots are going to waste.

Why the hell are they not giving them to teachers so we can get schools back open?!

Am I missing something here?!

Yes, you're missing accurate statistics. Check for reliable sources before starting a thread is always a good idea.

Surely they would have to account for vaccines sent to them and how many were given so wastage would be known
I have read several posts where they have rang round and got people in last minute or jabbed someone who was attending which makes sense
Just because someone says its true doesn't mean it is though either way

Im also in sw and my 66 year old dad not been invited yet so can't see how you can say low uptake in 65-69 year groups

older people refusing vaccine

Refusing - or just deciding that NHS booking system is more efficient?
I'm not in 'oldest' groups, and have to wait until the end of the week for Vaccination; needs to be 28 days since testing positive.
GP surgery called to offer appointment at the beginning of last week, said in first sentence "oh, you can't have it yet" - then said they were unable to make a booking for a a week ahead.
The next day I got a vaccine letter from central NHS, was able to go online, book an appointment for the end of this week, and make the appointment for the second dose.

It may well be that the GP surgery has a less constant supply - but that's not my problem, and being in easy reach of a number of vaccination centres, the best organised and more likely to be using Pfizer is my choice.

Exactly the same as @Jessbow ... I too volunteer at a vaccine hub. Most days we have 100% turn up, any that don't show are rung up the same day. We also have a list of people that are given any vaccine that is left over.