People questioning their invite - danger of rollout slowing ?

[SerendipityJane]

I noticed a thread where a poster seemed concerned to have been invited for a vaccine jab as they felt it was too soon ahead of the listed priority categories. And a couple of replies did point out that if everyone started querying their invite rather than just turning up and getting jabbed we could end up spending more time checking records that actually vaccinating.

Is it too controversial to say if you get an invite, just get the jab ? The sooner we are all vaccinated, the sooner we can all live again.

@Haffiana

I have always assumed that almost all of those posts are trolls or bots. It destabilizes popular trust in health advice and institutions, and that is the aim for certain groups/countries.

The ones where op has a 'friend' or even more laughably, several 'friends' who are 19, healthy etc etc and getting a vaccine - those are just lies and get copied over from facebook with OP pretending that it happened to her friends.

Some of course are just genuine errors.

That's interesting, there have been a lot of threads with exactly the same issue of being called up before they were expecting but tbh real life people are more likely to get down there as quickly as they can before someone changes their mind.

It's only on here that posters are incapable of making a decision without an internet wide poll first

Whilst I understand anyone's wish not to queue jump even if by accident, I think it is better to accept the invite and book an appointment.

If you have had a shielding letter you can book through the nhs website, even if you haven't received an invitation.
If you think you have missed your turn, you can email your surgery and ask them to check.
There might be a very few exceptions to this .
What people shouldn't do is tie up the surgery phone lines.
Some of the large hubs have been unable to fill all the slots so they are pushing through the categories.
As pp have said, dithering and querying just wastes everybody's time.

I agree. We all need it eventually so what does it matter if it's not completely in the right order?

I agree. I think its going to cause more hassle to call up, check, find someone else etc and thats just going to result in lost appointments, or risk getting lost in the system

Its not like its inappropriate to have the vaccine, everyone is going to have it at some point

I think if it’s the 30s totally healthy thread then I can see why the OP was baffled, I would be too and I think there is little wrong with asking if it was an error.

If you’re 55 and asthmatic for example, yeah it’s a bit daft to question an invite as by being on group 6 nationally, it’s clear that in some areas they’d be a bit further down and getting through the groups quicker.

Separate issue where I live, people are actually lying and queue jumping. So we’ve the case where 60-64 year olds and CV still are waiting to be invited locally and the NHS Trust is publicising that you shouldn’t book the vaccine unless you are 65+ or 18+ AND CEV or a Carer and making it clear by booking one outside of these groups you are
directly denying someone more vulnerable a vaccine. However, people are sharing a link on social media and it’s become a free for all with people self declaring that they are CEV or a Carer when they are actually lying. No proof is asked for at the mass vaccination centre, so we’ve got teenagers and young adults under 25 with no health problems or people to care for (and quite often no job or working from home), getting the vaccine in advance of the higher risk who haven’t been invited yet. I don’t think that’s right and I do think it matters that people wait to be invited.

We’ve got some 60 year olds or CV people working in high risk jobs still and who are far more likely to die or become seriously ill than a healthy 20 year old at home all day. So I disagree with the general sentiment of “as long as people get the jab what does it matter the order it’s in”.

If you are pretty young and fully healthy and invited by all means go but I can’t condemn or become irritated by someone briefly saying “I’m surprised to be invited as I am 30 and in perfect health. Of course I will accept provided I’m not depriving someone more
vulnerable.”

I also worry about repercussions. Some GPs
and Hospitals that were giving out 2nd jabs were warned about potential blacklisting and having their supplies cut further down the line. I imagine authorities or primary care settings that routinely ignore the JCVI protocol may be brought into question.

Well whoever is providing the link needs to disable it. Nobody should be booking except via the nhs website. If you are not eligible it won't accept your booking.

DH qualifies through work, but morally he hasn't felt right about having it when vulnerable people still haven't had the vaccine. A friend in the same profession has just had hers and says the pharmacy where she went said uptake was low. DH can book same pharmacy, so I've put it to him that although he hasn't got face to face work, if he's ill it'd be letting a lot of people down who really need his support., so to do it for them He tells me he's walked past the pharmacy at lunchtime and it's empty, so he's thinking about it!

@endofthelinefinally

Well whoever is providing the link needs to disable it. Nobody should be booking except via the nhs website. If you are not eligible it won't accept your booking.

It’s a council link and freely available on several “public” sites (the council and NHS Trust Facebook pages, the local authority website etc). They are relying on people not to lie but not following up to check.

It’s been in the local news already about people abusing the link and the NHS Trust basically responded by saying they trusted people will not lie and they will have to provide proof at the vaccination centre and turned away if they don’t have it. The reality is the centre is too busy to cope with unnecessary admin and doesn’t ask at all. I only know one person (who actually is a care
worker so was eligible) who was asked for ID and proof and when she said she’d left it at home they just shrugged and vaccinated her anyway.

Loads of authorities aren’t using the NHS Link.

That is really shocking Sandgrown. Very irresponsible of local authorities.

@endofthelinefinally

That is really shocking Sandgrown. Very irresponsible of local authorities.

*Separate issue where I live, people are actually lying and queue jumping. So we’ve the case where 60-64 year olds and CV still are waiting to be invited locally and the NHS Trust is publicising that you shouldn’t book the vaccine unless you are 65+ or 18+ AND CEV or a Carer and making it clear by booking one outside of these groups you are directly denying someone more vulnerable a vaccine. However, people are sharing a link on social media and it’s become a free for all with people self declaring that they are CEV or a Carer when they are actually lying. No proof is asked for at the mass vaccination centre, so we’ve got teenagers and young adults under 25 with no health problems or people to care for (and quite often no job or working from home), getting the vaccine in advance of the higher risk who haven’t been invited yet. I don’t think that’s right and I do think it matters that people wait to be invited.*

I have been volunteering in our local vaccine centre. There have been very, very few people who are younger coming through. Most people bring some sort of covering letter or note - we do not ask to see these unless there is doubt over an NI number, but they get offered.

I do not see how queue jumping is 'directly denying' the vaccine to someone else. It doesn't work like that. People who self-book are not bumping someone who is invited off the list, nor do they get pushed in front of someone who is invited.

My sister who will be 65 in two months and is a paid carer was turned away this afternoon as she forgot to take her carers paperwork. To me that seems ridiculous

I do not see how queue jumping is 'directly denying' the vaccine to someone else. It doesn't work like that. People who self-book are not bumping someone who is invited off the list, nor do they get pushed in front of someone who is invited

While it’s great that people aren’t lying at your vaccination centre, if people who aren’t in any of the priority groups and who fall under the “rest of the population” category are lying and fraudulently using a link meant for vulnerable people and carers, then of course they are impacting on the vaccination programme an denying someone more at risk a vaccine, at least temporarily. They’ve booked an appointment slot they weren’t entitled to that our LA is pointing out should be going to someone else. They’ve taken a vaccine they weren’t entitled to until the summer. Supply isn’t continuous or guaranteed to every vaccination centre. I personally know 10 people who lied and used this link this weekend. I know far more over 60s and clinically vulnerable at risk of death or severe illness still waiting their turn to be invited who would have happily accepted immediately had they been contacted and offered the vaccine.

I just searched for this topic having received an invite today out of the blue. 37 and no health problems whatsoever. There are people I'd like to go ahead of me (I have vulnerable friends and family still not vaccinated) but I quickly decided that the admin of even contacting the surgery, nevermind expecting rearrangements, would be counterproductive, so I'm just going to go and keep the ball rolling. I'm guessing (now resolved) health issues during my pregnancy last year have flagged me.

Completely agree OP

@Sunshinespacecadet

My sister who will be 65 in two months and is a paid carer was turned away this afternoon as she forgot to take her carers paperwork. To me that seems ridiculous

Sadly it's not as so many chancers have been lying to book slots that centres have to check that people are who they say they are.

I took my shielding letter and passport. They checked my nhs number on the letter and the computer.

@endofthelinefinally

I took my shielding letter and passport. They checked my nhs number on the letter and the computer.

That seems a sensible procedure, it also makes sure that they record the second dose info for the correct person too