MNHQ here: COVID vaccine Q&A with NHS experts - ask your question here

[RowanMumsnet]

Hello

We're very pleased to say we've managed to secure some time with experts from a range of disciplines to answer all your questions about the COVID vaccine.

Thread now closed for new questions.

This is a non-live Q&A: we’ll be collecting your questions until midday on Thursday March 11, and the answers will be posted up on this thread on Wednesday March 17. [EDIT: Due to new guidance which came out on Wednesday, the questions will be posted later in the week.]

So if you have any questions at all about the vaccine, now's your chance to ask 'em. When are you likely to get the jab? Do you have questions about how pregnancy and breastfeeding affect your eligibility? How were the jabs developed? How has the government and vaccine experts planned out the stages in which the population is vaccinated? What's the best way to encourage reluctant people take up the offer? Are there any common side effects?...

The experts answering your questions will be:

Dr Nikki Kanani, a GP in south-east London and Medical Director of Primary Care for NHS England and NHS Improvement. Nikki has held a range of positions within healthcare and with her sister she co-founded STEMMsisters, a social enterprise supporting young people to study science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine.

Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, the first Chief Midwifery Officer in England. She has worked as a midwife and a nurse and held senior positions in clinical practice, education, leadership and management.

Professor Lucy Chappell, a consultant obstetrician and spokesperson for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. She chairs the RCOG vaccine steering group, which is working to co-ordinate messaging for clinicians and women around COVID-19 vaccines, pregnancy and fertility. Lucy is also a National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Professor in Obstetrics at King’s College London and runs a research programme investigating prediction and prevention of adverse pregnancy outcomes, particularly in women with pre-existing co-morbidities such as chronic hypertension and chronic kidney disease.

Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam currently works as a Consultant Medical Epidemiologist in the Immunisation and Countermeasures Division, Public Health England. Her main areas of responsibility include the national surveillance of vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs) and providing expert clinical advice on vaccine related issues.*

So please do add all your questions here by Thursday March 11 midday and we look forward to posting up the answers next week.

As always, please remember our guidelines - please keep it civil, and if one topic is dominating a thread, we might request that people don't continue to post what's effectively the same question or point. Rest assured we will ALWAYS let the guest know that it's an area of concern to multiple users and will encourage them to engage with those questions.

And with that it’s over to you for your questions.

Thanks
MNHQ

*edited to reflect that Dr Mary Ramsay was not able to partake and was replaced by Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam.

@RowanMumsnet

Hello

We're very pleased to say we've managed to secure some time with experts from a range of disciplines to answer all your questions about the COVID vaccine.

This is a non-live Q&A: we’ll be collecting your questions until midday on Thursday March 11, and the answers will be posted up on this thread on Wednesday March 17. [EDIT: Due to new guidance which came out on Wednesday, the questions will be posted later in the week.]

So if you have any questions at all about the vaccine, now's your chance to ask 'em. When are you likely to get the jab? Do you have questions about how pregnancy and breastfeeding affect your eligibility? How were the jabs developed? How has the government and vaccine experts planned out the stages in which the population is vaccinated? What's the best way to encourage reluctant people take up the offer? Are there any common side effects?...

The experts answering your questions will be:

Dr Nikki Kanani, a GP in south-east London and Medical Director of Primary Care for NHS England and NHS Improvement. Nikki has held a range of positions within healthcare and with her sister she co-founded STEMMsisters, a social enterprise supporting young people to study science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine.

Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, the first Chief Midwifery Officer in England. She has worked as a midwife and a nurse and held senior positions in clinical practice, education, leadership and management.

Professor Lucy Chappell, a consultant obstetrician and spokesperson for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. She chairs the RCOG vaccine steering group, which is working to co-ordinate messaging for clinicians and women around COVID-19 vaccines, pregnancy and fertility. Lucy is also a National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Professor in Obstetrics at King’s College London and runs a research programme investigating prediction and prevention of adverse pregnancy outcomes, particularly in women with pre-existing co-morbidities such as chronic hypertension and chronic kidney disease.

Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, Consultant Epidemiologist in the National Immunisation Team at Public Health England (PHE).*

So please do add all your questions here by Thursday March 11 midday and we look forward to posting up the answers next week.

As always, please remember our guidelines - please keep it civil, and if one topic is dominating a thread, we might request that people don't continue to post what's effectively the same question or point. Rest assured we will ALWAYS let the guest know that it's an area of concern to multiple users and will encourage them to engage with those questions.

And with that it’s over to you for your questions.

Thanks
MNHQ

*edited to reflect that Dr Mary Ramsay was not able to partake and was replaced by Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam.

I

Thanks for doing this, I missed it but will read

@RowanMumsnet

Hello

We're very pleased to say we've managed to secure some time with experts from a range of disciplines to answer all your questions about the COVID vaccine.

This is a non-live Q&A: we’ll be collecting your questions until midday on Thursday March 11, and the answers will be posted up on this thread on Wednesday March 17. [EDIT: Due to new guidance which came out on Wednesday, the questions will be posted later in the week.]

So if you have any questions at all about the vaccine, now's your chance to ask 'em. When are you likely to get the jab? Do you have questions about how pregnancy and breastfeeding affect your eligibility? How were the jabs developed? How has the government and vaccine experts planned out the stages in which the population is vaccinated? What's the best way to encourage reluctant people take up the offer? Are there any common side effects?...

The experts answering your questions will be:

Dr Nikki Kanani, a GP in south-east London and Medical Director of Primary Care for NHS England and NHS Improvement. Nikki has held a range of positions within healthcare and with her sister she co-founded STEMMsisters, a social enterprise supporting young people to study science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine.

Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, the first Chief Midwifery Officer in England. She has worked as a midwife and a nurse and held senior positions in clinical practice, education, leadership and management.

Professor Lucy Chappell, a consultant obstetrician and spokesperson for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. She chairs the RCOG vaccine steering group, which is working to co-ordinate messaging for clinicians and women around COVID-19 vaccines, pregnancy and fertility. Lucy is also a National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Professor in Obstetrics at King’s College London and runs a research programme investigating prediction and prevention of adverse pregnancy outcomes, particularly in women with pre-existing co-morbidities such as chronic hypertension and chronic kidney disease.

Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, Consultant Epidemiologist in the National Immunisation Team at Public Health England (PHE).*

So please do add all your questions here by Thursday March 11 midday and we look forward to posting up the answers next week.

As always, please remember our guidelines - please keep it civil, and if one topic is dominating a thread, we might request that people don't continue to post what's effectively the same question or point. Rest assured we will ALWAYS let the guest know that it's an area of concern to multiple users and will encourage them to engage with those questions.

And with that it’s over to you for your questions.

Thanks
MNHQ

*edited to reflect that Dr Mary Ramsay was not able to partake and was replaced by Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam.

Ok Ok Ok Ok well if I do do I

Great idea!

Is the AZ vaccine considered safe for someone who has an Arterial Venous Malformation?

I have ITP and had one dose of AZ. Should I have a second dose after the latest findings about clotting and low platelets? I was flu like for 7 weeks after my first dose.

Thank you so much for your detailed reply, Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam.

Hi My daughter is 30 and she is stressed out for having AZ vaccine if offered. What logic is behind it under 30 will be offered alternatives?

Thank you DrNikkiKanani

I’ve had the vaccine, only reaction was the same as the flu vaccine. Slight tenderness and my arm felt heavy.

I had my first vaccine and had severe headaches for some days and on day 5 had a terribly scary episode with my eye, almost like a focal seizure. This was one of the most scary things healthwise I have ever experienced, the pain in my eye was intense, like someone was grabbing and twisting my eyeball. Gp says they have been given no guidance on what to say to people, optician says my vision is fine. I am so worried that this could happen again with a second dose ( if it was related to the vaccine ). Can anyone advise whether I should have a second vaccine. I have reported on the yellow card system.

@Babyroobs

I had my first vaccine and had severe headaches for some days and on day 5 had a terribly scary episode with my eye, almost like a focal seizure. This was one of the most scary things healthwise I have ever experienced, the pain in my eye was intense, like someone was grabbing and twisting my eyeball. Gp says they have been given no guidance on what to say to people, optician says my vision is fine. I am so worried that this could happen again with a second dose ( if it was related to the vaccine ). Can anyone advise whether I should have a second vaccine. I have reported on the yellow card system.

Sorry I should have also said I had AZ vaccine and almost 5 weeks later still have daily headaches that never really go away.

@Mere1

I have ITP and had one dose of AZ. Should I have a second dose after the latest findings about clotting and low platelets? I was flu like for 7 weeks after my first dose.

I really think you should get the second dose...This situation is so frightening I'm honestly don't know what to think anymore.

The MHRA missed the clotting issue. What else might they have missed?

@suzebaxter

Hi My daughter is 30 and she is stressed out for having AZ vaccine if offered. What logic is behind it under 30 will be offered alternatives?

I think you shouldn't worry about the AZ vaccines. The reason why is getting so much bad press is 100% political.

@Commonparenth00d Can you expand on it?

I am underweight, and very petite. I am concerned about the dosage and the possible impact it may have on weight.

I have tried asking Pfizer directly, to which they told me they didn't know, basically. They told me that they can not tell me anything other than what is on the patient leaflets due to pharmaceutical regulations, and that there is no information relating to my question on the leaflet.

I am hearing of young people developing quite severe adverse reactions, and it seems their risks from the vaccine could possibly outweigh the risks from covid. I cant help but wonder if weight could be a factor in this, since younger people are often times more slender. The people I know who have taken the vaccine, the ones who handled it well were either average weight and height or overweight, and the ones who have suffered have been of average height but low weight, or petite.

Now I understand this is just anecdotal, but when I am trying to get answers to questions to prove me wrong to find I can't get any. It's not really very reassuring. So hopefully asking here will get me some answers.

I would also like to know why it is repeatedly being advertised as both safe and effective, when it seems it is neither. It does not prevent you from catching or transmitting the virus, and so it is not effective. Many, many people have suffered severe adverse reactions, some of which have been fatal, and so it is not completely safe.

Darn. Just noticed how out of date I am haha

Pls