The vaccine delay has really knocked me

[daisiesinmay]

For background I'm 49 and a lone parent. of course it's good about the amount of vaccines done. But right now, the sudden announcement of the delay last week felt like the final straw somehow for me.

I had already been worried about dcs back at school, but was following the news closely, looking on the vaccine calculator regularly, and -stupidly- told myself it would be in April. Feels like I was hanging on by my fingertips for that.

Since that's been withdrawn I feel so down. Most people I know seem to have got the vaccine now. I'm wondering if for 49s it will even get here in May - if there's a shortage they'll have to prioritise second doses.

I'm surprised how much it's knocked me down. Just totally lacking in hope now, thoroughly fed up, feel depressed. Anyone else get this?

Yes, I feel that the govt doesn't really give a shit about under 50s too! If you're not likely to die or spend weeks in hospital costing them money, they aren't bothered.

It really upset me when they announced groups 1-9 last year and the priority, but didn't include under 50s anywhere until late Feb. I don't want to be before groups 1-9, but I wanted to be part of the plan! This delay is bringing back those feelings of being forgotten.

And the fact that Boris hardly mentioned this at his last briefing. It was 99% " the vaccine is safe, blood clots are not happening, but covid will kill you so get jabbed!". Oh, unless you're under 50 because India didn't deliver. Moving on....

Surely the vaccination programme halting roll out to new groups is big news. But it didn't seem to be.

I sympathise OP. I feel much the same. Objectively I know that we’re doing really well, the numbers are great etc, but for some reason the announcement of the delay really knocked me for six emotionally. I’ve felt at the end of my tether for the last few weeks and I think subconsciously I was just hanging on because of the expectation that I’d get an appointment soon. Since they announced the delay I’ve been really down in the dumps. I don’t even know why!! I’ve been so strong and generally upbeat for the past year. Maybe it’s all just hitting me at once, I don’t know.

Yes, I feel that the govt doesn't really give a shit about under 50s too! If you're not likely to die or spend weeks in hospital costing them money, they aren't bothered

They really haven't thought it through, because they will need to spend money on looking after the kids of people who are too ill to do so. But then, the policies so far suggest those making them don't have a clue about children / childcare IMO.

It really hit me too - I hadn't realised until the news of the delay how much I had pinned my hopes on getting my vaccine and finally being able to breathe a sigh of relief and feel a bit safer. I live alone with pretty much no support network and even though I know the risk is low, I can't help worrying about it. And SO many on TV and social media are saying how relieved they feel after their jabs...

I've also struggled with feeling I can't even talk to anyone about how this has affected me because lots of my friends have already had their jabs either due to something on their medical record/high BMI or some of them just seemingly randomly (apparently our area is ahead so lots of healthy early 40s people got invited recently). With the recent newspaper reports about the speed and the local situation, I had thought my turn would come late April.

It was much easier when it was people much older than me getting their jabs and obviously I wouldn't want to go ahead of someone who needs it more due to health reasons or care responsibilities, but feeling like it's a lottery has just made me feel really upset. And all the people saying they are unpaid carers because they do someone's shopping and cleaning...

I know. My 48 year old partner got his last week. Our surgery was rattling through the vaccines and had got on to the over 45s. I was really hopeful that mine would be soon (I'm 43) but this delay has put paid to that and it does feel like a real knock! Originally, I think the online calculator was saying September and it feels like it's got earlier and earlier and we've got our hopes up, only to be let down again.
But I am extremely thankful that my DP has had his (partly for selfish reasons as it means I am less likely to get it!) and also mindful that my 75 year old uncle in Europe hasn't had his first shot and has no idea when he's likely to

Yes, I have been very down about it all. Dh and I are both in our 40s. One of our DC was asked to shield last year and as a family we spent five months not leaving the house at all. DC was removed from the shielding list. Now the children have to be back at school mixing with hundreds of families with basically zero protection. I asked if dh and I could be considered for a vaccine as DC needs extra care when ill and has a higher risk of needing hospital care with any illness and I wanted to do all we could to ensure we are not ill so that we can provide the care. I was told no as we are under 50.

Meanwhile, childless BiL who works from home but has turned 50 gets the jab. I also have lots of neighbours in a similar situation, no kids at home, WFH or active-retired all now clearly feeling more relaxed. Up until now I have been pleased for others but another half a term at least of this worry, combined with further opening up seems more than I can take right now.

Yes @nordica I know what you mean about not feeling able to talk about it. I fear the response I’d get is that many people have it far worse, etc.

I’m with you OP, and the announcement about the delay really made me feel deflated. I think I was clinging on to the hope of being vaccinated some time before, or perhaps during, the Easter holidays and then gradually feeling safer over the next half term. I’m 45 and have a DH so I appreciate I’m in an easier situation than you, so I really feel for you. It’s hard not to be a bit jealous when you see people not much older than you (or sometimes younger than you thanks to the postcode lottery) getting their jabs. I know an NHS admin worker who works from home (loves to tell people she is NHS), and she has been jabbed twice already. It does feel like the people in their 40s are a bit unlucky or forgotten but I suppose they have to make the cut off somewhere.

Another disappointed 49yo with kids in school here.

Agree with PP that I’m back to feeling how I did before they announced a Group 10 at all (ie, everyone under 50 all lumped together) and it is really hard to just get on with it when people literally a few weeks/months older are getting jabs.

I am grateful we’re doing so well, and I am hopeful that the delay won’t be as long as I fear, but I would very much like to know when it will be my turn.

I was all down in the dumps this morning, then glanced at phone, and I had an invite to book. Just booked for tomorrow! I hope you all get it asap.Perhaps there isn't as much of a shortage as we thought. I am in SE London.

I fee the same. Everyone around me seems to had vaccine weeks ago. It’s no surprise people are getting more relaxed about the rules. Easier to relax when you’ve had your jab.

We're still running ahead of schedule and in the middle of a five million dose surge. Yes, the next five million dose surge will be a few weeks late but we're still in an incredibly good position.

Online calculator still says 29th March to 15th April for me (I'm 45).

Everybody wants to be priority though ,what fair way is there to make people priority?yes I have had my first dose so it's easy for me to say but the only reason for that is I have a severely disabled child ,nobody has been forgotten about .

Yes, I feel that the govt doesn't really give a shit about under 50s too! If you're not likely to die or spend weeks in hospital costing them money, they aren't bothered

They really need to give a shit on a purely financial basis even if they can't function on a human level, that we have been and will be the ones funding all this for the rest of our lives, and our children's lives.

I fee the same. Everyone around me seems to had vaccine weeks ago. It’s no surprise people are getting more relaxed about the rules. Easier to relax when you’ve had your jab

This is the real concern. People starting to meet up because they feel they're protected - but the people they could pass it onto might not be. And plenty in groups that could still be very badly affected.

Yep @Graciebobcat, it says 28 March to 14 April for me (I'm 48) but I'm not sure if that's based on the vaccination rate to date, without factoring in any anticipated supply chain issues yet to come? I sincerely hope that the calculator is right!

FWIW, the calculator predicted that dh would get his between 23 and 28 March, but he has already had it. I'm trying to stay optimistic!

It's unfair to expect parents 40-50s (more so late 40s and any early 50s not yet vaccinated) to send their kids into unsafe schools and it's unfair to expect school staff 40s-50s to work in unsafe schools without being vaccinated. They haven't suspended the fines though, have they? They haven't prioritised teachers. They've done sod all to try and ensure better social distancing or smaller class sizes. If they were making schools safer, like in many other parts of the world, then fine. They're not.

I don't really understand why people are able to get a vaccine as a carer if they do shopping for their mum (or even if they don't do any caring if what we read on mumsnet is to be believed) and yet widowed or lone parents don't get any priority

I'm now wondering whether I should put myself down as a carer. My mum lives with us, is 81 and wasn't told to shield but is in a high risk group due to age and diabetes. But she is independent - ish - ironically Covid has made her less so. She has stopped driving but now can hardly walk that far due to being scared to go out for most of the pandemic (has had her first jab only) and just potters round the house most of the time. She's fairly tech savvy but I'm not sure that she'd cope with online shopping if DH and I became ill. DDs are 16 and 12 and I'm sure they'd all muddle along, but in reality, she does rely on me for food, to run her about and to pick up her prescriptions.

Yep I hear you, I’m 42 and was looking forward to being more normal but now still have to wait. Mil expects life to return to normal as soon as SHE has HER second jab. I’ve had to tell her that we can’t be part of that until be we get our jabs.

I’m with you too OP. I feel really down about it and I don’t think I’d realised how much I seemed to be pinning my hopes on it. I’m in my 40s with school-age kids. Positives - I know friends in their 40s in other areas have been called so they are still moving through and that gives me hope. And I’m hoping because they did so many hand this weekend, it’s all going to help to move down the list. They will need to fill the slots.

I'm feeling the same, OP.

I recently took up a job in a health care role which is very close contact and all of the staff where I work have now had both their jabs. I don't get one as I've started later and vaccine supply now down.

I don't feel safe at all but have to go on caring for clients. Scary.

Same! I'm 48 - although not a lone parent so don't have that pressure - and the news last week really shook me. I think having hope is dangerous! I have friends in their 20s and 30s who have had it due to health issues/BMI and all my friends in their 50s are done now. I feel like wailing "what about meeeeeeee?". I understand that levels are low etc, but I suspect I will end up in more or less lockdown until I am jabbed because it feels daft to be off to the pub or whatever when it is so close.

I hear you OP. For me I think it's worse because of expectations and hopes having been raised - in the way that getting stuck in traffic when your destination us in sight, always feels worse than traffic jams 3-4 hours out.

I am lucky to the extent there are two of us to care for DS. But we are both late 40s, no local family, and DH is not quite fat or unwell enough to qualify for group 6 but unlikely to fare well with Covid-19 so I am worried - about him, and also about DS's mental health if he brings it home from school and blames himself. School is our main risk as we are both WFH, getting online shopping and seeing nobody in person.

I was hanging onto the hope that we would be vaccinated early April so would have some protection building as lockdown lifted. What now worries me is that our age group will be the collateral damage when everyone else ie the vaccinated over-50s and the young (who feel the invulnerability of youth) all collectively go, yaaaaaay, paaaaaaarty!!!, precautions go out the window and infection rates rise a bit. We'll be few enough in absolute numbers not to overwhelm the NHS ( hopefully) so no reason to delay the roadmap out of lockdown while we wait for our vaccines. But on the other hand we are an age group with caring responsibilities for DCs and ageing parents so our families will bear the brunt if we get sick or worse.