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.