Other countries offering choice of vaccine

[doireallyneedaname]

I have relatives in Cyprus who are able to choose with vaccine they’d like - AZ or Pfizer.

They have been given an appointment for next week and told that they will be told beforehand which vaccine they are having, and if they want the other they can reschedule for that one.

I just read a news article which seems to confirm this.

Appreciate the population is minuscule compared to the UK and many other countries but given the recent news re AZ efficacy against the SA strain (which I believe will likely be the same against further mutations) - I can’t help but wish we’d order more Pfizer and give people the choice.

[quote doireallyneedaname]@CuriousaboutSamphire Yesterday it was declared on this thread that one would NEVER be offered a choice in this country 🙄[/quote]
And did every other poster agree?

Early on in the last 500+ posts it has also been said that choice can be offered but not everywhere, everywhen. Posted by someone involved in the process I believe!

Well I phoned the doctors up today to check I was in group 6. They confirmed I was and asked if I wanted to be booked in. They tried to book me in with them but I said I was anxious about having the Oxford one. She said ‘no problem’ and booked me in for the Pfizer at the local hub. She also let me book my husband in there. So happy days Seems you can request it if you get a nice receptionist.

@CrackOpenTheGin Fabulous!

@Crackopenthegin I told you, you could choose in the UK but you questioned me twice!

@CrackOpenTheGin This is so obvious actually, I can’t believe I hadn’t considered just... talking to my GP They are always very accommodating. I feel very reassured now.

Yes I was very surprised but happy.

[quote Baileysforchristmas]@Crackopenthegin I told you, you could choose in the UK but you questioned me twice![/quote]
I’m sorry, you were right. I think I am just so used to feeling like I have no say in my own medical care (especially maternity care) when I use the GP and NHS. Things are very different when I pay to go private. So I am very pleasantly surprised at how this is being handled.

[quote doireallyneedaname]@CrackOpenTheGin This is so obvious actually, I can’t believe I hadn’t considered just... talking to my GP They are always very accommodating. I feel very reassured now.[/quote]
My GP is very clear that they don’t want you to phone with queries about the vaccine and that you’ll be contacted and be able to book vaccination via a dedicated route. I’m pleased about this because it leaves receptionists and doctors free to deal with other more urgent matters - and means that people like me, who had a potentially very problematic condition, are more likely to have it diagnosed and dealt with rapidly.
The vaccination itself was easy to book and I had the AZ. I was very pleased with the process, and happy to have had a vaccine of whichever type.

Well that sounds more like the NHS I know and hate Luckily my GP seems to be a bit better.

@borntobequiet I know what they want, but that’s not always what they get. I know someone in the CEV category who hadn’t received their letter when most had (before the briefing on TV) - they, like you, were aware that we are “not to call the GP.” She decided to call them and it turns out they had accidentally logged her as moderate risk instead of CEV. Good thing she called, eh?

I am far down the list so when it is my turn I expect the pressure will be off somewhat, so I am prepared to speak to them.

To be honest I will be relieved when we have vaccines coming out of our ears and I can just pay to get whatever I want, save the fannying around with all the NHS rules and grumpy receptionists.

Luckily my GP seems to be a bit better.

Mine diagnosed a potentially life-threatening condition, made me an urgent referral and monitored my condition before and after treatment, as well as making it very easy to get the vaccine. So I think he’s the best.

@borntobequiet

Luckily my GP seems to be a bit better.

Mine diagnosed a potentially life-threatening condition, made me an urgent referral and monitored my condition before and after treatment, as well as making it very easy to get the vaccine. So I think he’s the best.

No arguments there. Mine are generally shite which is why I try to avoid ever going. I struck lucky with the vaccine though thankfully.

@MRex

Most individuals don't have the scientific expertise to pick between medical treatments. Leave it to the professionals.

Completely agree

What’s actually hilarious is how many people on this thread insulted me and called me all sorts of names for wishing we could have a choice, when unbeknownst to me there is already a choice for many. On another thread there are more and more people coming out saying they too were offered a choice when booking.

So to anyone reading this thread who shared
my feelings, the take home is - don’t worry about it, you’ll probably be able to get the one you want.

Fwiw, I hope you get your preferred vaccine if it gives you greater peace of mind. But I'm still not convinced there is a real choice for most people... you might strike lucky but it's really going to depend on what the centres round about have at that particular point in time.

Great. Win win. Just shows how brilliant the programme is.

I still don’t care a jot which I’m given.

Not at all. It's impractical to make giving a choice a policy, as there are simply not the supplies to make it possible. If it were an official thing, then people would have a right to choose, and that can't be done. It doesn't mean that individual areas are able to offer choices if they have multiple centres that happen to give different ones. I do have a preference, but no, not a choice here. The hubs get what they get, and are unlikely to get anything else for weeks to months. Many of them could not store anything other than AZ.

Time will tell! Like I say, I wouldn’t refuse AZ - but if I can get Pfizer/Moderna I’d prefer that, so I’ll ask the question nearer the time.

Time is telling right now. People would like a choice but cannot get one so we will take what we can get, because preventing transmission as much as possible as soon as possible is the only way to reduce mutations and new variants. We simply can't afford to wait til our choice is available.

I think everyone clearly has the right to express a preference like @CrackOpenTheGin has done. The extent to which that preference can be accommodated will depend on local vaccine supplies, I suspect. It's if people start refusing the vaccine because they want to "wait" for the other one that problems will start arising.

@doireallyneedaname

The “doctors and scientists” all agree that Pfizer is more effective. That is factual information. What on earth are you talking about?

That is crap. It is not possible to compare the efficacy in a meaningful way, due to the different trial designs and the subsequent mutations. And no one knows whether any of the vaccines will turn out to have a real-world effect. There are lots of vaccines for other diseases that have looked effective in trials, but have turned out to have no real-world impact.

I am a doctor and happily had the AZ vaccine. I didn't get a choice and would happily have had the Pfizer too, but I am wary about how cagey Pfizer have been with their trial data. A lot of the concerns people have raised about AZ are due to their greater transparency. That doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with the Pfizer one, but it's yet another reason not to make crude comparisons between the two.

@MissLucyEyelesbarrow Guessing you’ve missed the Israeli Pfizer news then.

[quote doireallyneedaname]@MissLucyEyelesbarrow Guessing you’ve missed the Israeli Pfizer news then.[/quote]
Nope. It's positive news and the early data from the UK is also encouraging, but the trial data isn't yet published, so no one has been able to drill into the detail.

We get these sort of headlines about new drugs/vaccines/medical products all the time, but they often don't stand up to scrutiny - something that it is difficult to appreciate if you don't read medical journals frequently.

I think it's highly likely that both AZ and Pfizer will turn out to have a real-world effect, but we need to see more data to be sure, both that the effect is real and that the immunity lasts long enough to be useful. In the meantime, it is too soon to make meaningful comparisons between the vaccines. People should not feel deterred from having the AZ one.

Cyprus have asked Israel to sell them some vaccines as the EU is totally inadequate.