So much for ‘protect the NHS’

[littlelionboss]

This is a ranty post & I apologise.

I’m really starting to get pissed off with the vaccine situation.

My area are now onto vaccinating the over 40’s!!!

I’ve got family & friends that have been called for theirs... fit, healthy, no underlying health conditions.

I’m early 30’s two health conditions and I’m in group 6 for the vaccine.

I can’t book online and when I’ve spoken to my GP (today) they’ve just said I will have to wait for them to contact me.

My sister in law has been given hers on the basis that she’s a carer.
She “cares” for her husband who has a bad back.
A back so bad that over the summer he’s completely transformed his back garden, alone!

It just really doesn’t seem fair at all.

I have a small child and I’m a single parent, surely I should be vaccinated as a carer?!

I know we are all entitled to the vaccine, but hasn’t the point all along beeb to protect the NHS?!

How are we protecting them by jumping ahead to the fit and healthy and leaving the vulnerable ones behind?!

Yes, I agree. It is not chaotic or a mess.
It is amazing that about 2.5 million get their jabs every week.
It is tunnel vision and only thinking about oneself or about individuals rather than seeing a bigger picture which leads to this view.

The fury some people feel about having been invited to a centre which mean travelling, or the fury some people feel when they realise someone in a group above them has been invited for a vaccine before them is astonishing.

When vaccinating a whole population, broad policy choices have to be made. It cannot be nuanced for every individual circumstance to make the order absolutely perfect and reflect every individual situation, it just can’t. So some people find that those younger than them had it first or that some areas go faster than others. This is what happens when you need to whizz through as fast as possible.

Speed saves lives here. A arefully designed system with loads more nuance for individual circumstance would be far slower and more people would die or be hospitalised. That’s what it’s about, not ensuring everyone is in the exact right place in the queue.

The council is constantly advising that there are volunteer drivers. And there can’t be many people who don’t know somebody who would give them a lift.

Hmmmph, all these people distraught that they can’t visit and “hug”family members suddenly have absolutely no one who can help them

I'm Scotland. GPs where I am did 75 and over and CEV. We agreed to do the 75+ and CEV so the hubs could start with the 70-74 so 75-79 and 70-74 would be getting their vaccines at the same time.

What happened of course was at the beginning of February the hubs sent out their appointments for the next two weeks but we didn't know when our vaccines were arriving or at least just a rough date so we couldn't call people in.

So on 1st Feb Mrs Smith aged 72 had her appointment for the 13th Feb but on 8th Feb Mrs Smith aged 78 didn't have his appointment. Cue lots of angry phonecalls and trying to explain the situation.

Our vaccines arrived on the 12th Feb and Mr Smith aged 78 got his vaccine the same day as his wife.

And of course trying to explain why they couldn't come to the same place was hard.

We vaccinated 700 people in 4 weeks. We have over 900 in group 6 but our hubs are doing them.

We will all get done. It's an Incredible achievement to role this out.

If centres have spare vaccine that is going to be thrown away I'm quite happy for them to give them to anyone passing be they 40, 18 or a passing dog ( joke ! ). I had people 20 years younger and healthier than me vaccinated before me and had no problem with that. I'm fed up with people thinking that somehow they are 'special'. They are vaccinating in the simplest way from information held by doctors' surgeries. Doctors do not know you are a teacher, supermarket worker, or unemployed etc

Our county mass vaccination centre is 17 miles away, but there are a few pharmacists offering vaccination via the website and the one my husband attended was only 5 miles away on an industrial estate. I think it was more like a pharmaceutical warehouse. It would be tricky to get to without a car bike or good legs! Our GP is using a sports centre several miles away ( as part of a local consortium) so might be quite difficult for those who would struggle to travel. Some rural areas probably have less choice. Perhaps I’ll see if they need volunteers to help with transport from our village.

GPs are moving at different rates. I am 50s no illnesses was vaccinated this week because my surgery ran out of older people and now vaccinating people my age.

I don’t understand how they work it out either... I know of people a decade younger than my mum with less health conditions who got it the same day as her... I also know of people the next borough to ours (same health authority) who have had their letter/text for the vaccine, but are 10 years younger than I and 15 younger than my sibling (who is in the same borough as them) who is also a career for her partner with copd and long covid and we have heard nothing

@Lemons1571

I agree with you. I’m group 6. I fully expect all age groups to be done before I even get a sniff out of my gp as they are completely overwhelmed.

What happens if all age groups are indeed vaxxed and group 6 are still nowhere near finished. Doesn’t look good does it.

Well if your age group is eligible before you get your letter you'll be sorted anyway, won't you? You don't HAVE to wait for one for the GP if you can self refer

@Botanicals

It ‘turns my stomach’ that a vulnerable person with severe learning disabilities who can’t defend themselves or assert themselves has been seemingly forgotten while my marathon running gym bunny friends have got the vaccination.

I'm a "marathon running gym bunny" who has been vaccinated. But guess what I'm the carer of a vulnerable child, who would not be able to cope well if both me and his Dad got ill, especially if we were both as ill as I was Christmas 2019, and if either of us was ill then my partner wouldn't be able to care for his Mum as he'd need to be here looking after our child. So before you judge your marathon running friends consider there may be circumstances that they haven't plastered all over fb

It’s not possible is it for it to be within 10 mins of everyone everywhere. Larger locations are more efficient to run than zillions of tiny Ines that are close to everyone’s house. Some travelling is inevitable and unavoidable. I’d have thought most people would spot that.

And yes, not everyone has a car and some might be harder to get to by public transport (although locations for mass centres have been chosen to be accessible) and some of the earlier and vulnerable groups won’t have been out for months, but this is just one journey and then a second journey months later and is of great importance.

There really are lots of mechanisms to help people get there if they have trouble.

Given how desperate people have been to get vaccinated, some seem to have given up very easily on making that one journey, when it really is possible for most at this stage if the programme. Yes, it might be a new journey, yes it might involve some thought and planning for some to a location they haven’t been before, but it’s for a very worthwhile purpose.

And again, there’s the big picture of getting through the masses, and not just about providing a convenient place for the 15 people who live in one rather remote place.

At every stage, balancing the needs of individuals against the needs to deliver this efficiently and fast to 50 million people have been considered. The best locations to do this have been chosen. The vast majority of people won’t have to travel more than half an hour but some will need to. It’s a journey that needs to happen twice. To bring it much closer forget would require far more centres to be operating which isn’t viable.

Most people need to be prepared to out themselves out a bit to get the vaccine...to travel a bit, to look into public transport options if required, to ask a relative to take them or go with them or to contact a volunteer service for a lift if needed. It’s not a ridiculous ask as some people seem to suggest...it’s hardly being asked of people for something if no-consequence and they will only need to go twice. But lots of people would only be happy if they can walk to their vaccine or it was delivered to them directly at home. And a lot of people are purely into comparisons and feeling affronted because they know some people didn’t have to go as far as they did or some people had it sooner, or some areas are going faster.

Why can’t people glad it’s happening so fast, it’s happening, and that there are centres enough for no-one to need to go more than an hour. Why instead does it become moaning that people in a younger group have started having it before someone they know, or that some people could go to a centre 3 Mike’s away, but their centre is 20 miles away? Why such a glass empty thing with this and desire to compare to others and feel cheated by the system, rather than marvelling at how amazing it actually is?

That is literally exactly what they're doing. But the practice is not going quite so smoothly as the theory because identifying people by age is much easier than identifying them by vulnerability. Are you suggesting that the whole vaccination programme should be temporarily halted in order to ensure that every single group 6 person in the whole country is vaccinated before every single group 7 person? Resulting, obviously, in much slower roll out and more deaths (and more burden on the NHS)?

I mean, I get that this is a rant (fair enough) so you're not actually suggesting that but yeah... there's your answer.

Its a mess - I was told to book, duly did so and found I could get an appt at a mass vaccination centre the next day (GP surgery was not an option) - which would have been today. I didnt get an email or text to confirm anything, or any specific instructions but figured it was because it was at short notice. Because I didnt have anything, and their list didnt have me on it, I was turned away. After queueing up outside for 15 minutes. It is very frustrating, and the centres do seem to be out of step with the surgeries.

Hmm, quote failed for some reason.. That was meant to be in response to 'why are they not prioritising the vulnerable' from OP

That’s right, “it’s a mess” sarcastic angry - just to make it clear.

I think you and I, @WombatChocolate , are going to mutually blow a gasket as however many times you tell people it’s not a personally curated service, they just moan and moan and moan and.....

Wannabe, I’m not sure that makes the whole system a mess.

Someone on another thread posted to ask about whether they should have confirmation of booking. The answer was yes, and when they looked again, they realised they hadn’t lspitred or clicked on the final ‘submit’ button. The booking they thought they’d made and screen shorted, wasn’t actually booked and if it had been they would have received confirmation.

I can see it was really frustrating for you. But honestly, it’s not a problem with the entire system as the vast vast majority manage to use it and confirm their booking.

The centres and the surgeries are doing different lists. Centres by age group, surgeries or community hubs are generally going group 6. With age groups, some areas are further ahead than others.

Hope you can book and get done in the next day or two...look for the submit button. Have you managed to rebook now?

I think GPs, receptionists and the NHS in general is doing a brilliant job with the vaccines.

I absolutely think anyone invited should take up a vaccine. It will either have no affect on me, or help if vaccines do reduce transmission. I have confirmed with GP I’m in group 6 and will wait my turn.

I am frustrated and a little envious of others getting vaccine as I am worried I will have a fall and break a bone. I know quite a bit of the Covid is caught in hospital. (I have broken an arm, leg and hip by the time I was 21. Most recently broke my ankle).
Envy is not a trait I like in myself. (I also would never tell someone irl who has been vaccinated how I feel.)

Two things:

First, people saying that they can't hug their loved ones as they haven't yet been vaccinated - even people who have been vaccinated should still, for the moment, be behaving as if they and everyone around them potentially has the virus. It's wonderful, but it's not bulletproof.

Second, even if you yourself are not vaccinated, other people around you being vaccinated makes you a lot safer anyway. Other people being vaccinated doesn't take anything away from you - quite the opposite.

@Etherealhedgehog

Hmm, quote failed for some reason.. That was meant to be in response to 'why are they not prioritising the vulnerable' from OP

@WombatChocolate - came home to a message saying I had missed my appointment, so yes, I had submitted it.

@IrmaFayLear - what a nasty comment. I booked because I was told to, was not sent anything to confirm it, then when I got to the centre was told I had not. Got home to find it now says I missed my appointment. I think that qualifies as a mess.

I'm 42yrs old and a couple of wks ago my GP surgery telephoned me to ask me to come for my 1st injection. When I asked why, as I class myself as fit and healthy, they said I was in Group 6. This was a surprise to me. I haven't had a shielding letter and have no underlying health conditions!
I went along this week and out of curiosity asked again. Because I had been diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes 6yrs ago during pregnancy, that had put me in group 6.
Just to say, I'm not Diabetic now, and have recently had my yearly blood check to test for it.
On the other hand, a friend of mine at a different surgery, who has Type 2 Diabetics and is on medication to control it, has only this past week had a shielding letter, is in group 6 and her injection booked for in mid March.
Looking at it like this, it looks like it may go on your area and how quick your GP's are at administering them?

Group 6 is a disaster that was waiting to happen, as that group is so large.
One of my brothers and I are in that group and are still waiting to be called up for our vaccines, whilst our youngest brother whom is 10 years younger than me had his first one 10 days ago.
The system sucks it really does - not the intention I'm sure, but it seems to discriminate against asthma patients under 60. 😒

I don't think group 6 is a disaster. It's just going to be more difficult to identify people with underlying conditions compared with age. Inevitably some people who shouldn't have been able to book a vaccination have been able to but if they were more strict about it it would probably slow things down. They will probably contact most people who should be in that group in the next couple of weeks.

I think the saying is “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good”

I honestly think a slightly more rough and ready approach is the best way to get through the vaccinations at speed, rather than aiming for a finely tuned approach to ensure absolutely everyone is dealt with in order of priority. People are being vaccinated at an incredible rate, yes it may not be perfect, but it’s working pretty bloody well.

Sit tight, I’m sure you will get yours in the next few weeks.

Always best to listen to people having problems and try and resolve the issues, telling people that there are absolutely no issues doesn’t make it so..
distribution is still an issue because centres still can’t order what they need and when. Some areas are hugely behind other areas and there are ‘spare’ vaccines going to those not in the designated groups because of this. Previous, now resolved gestational diabetes was incorrectly included in the criteria. On a small scale these things don’t matter but on a larger scale they need sorting out at a high level. There’s a balance, yes we need to go quickly but we also need to ensure that the majority of vaccinations are going to the most vulnerable.

Group 7 is 60-65, the website says 64 and over unless you have a letter/advice about CEV status. Is your FiL 64? It doesn't work for the 61 yr old I just tried to put through.

I've told all my just over 60 friends to book online since reading it on here last week, and they all have made appointments. Wonder if it's dependant on area?

I’m sorry but no system is going to be perfect. I’ve think people need to just wait their turns, if you’re that worried call your GP. However you sound pretty mean about your sister in law, presumably her husband is your brother?! I’ve noticed people always downplay other people’s disabilities as if it’s a competition and I suspect you’re doing exactly that.