Has anybody managed to get Pfizer instead of astra zeneca?

[Crovine]

If so, please share strategies.

I have a number of issues including sibling medical history that have led me to not want astra zeneca. None of these are on the list of official reasons to avoid it. But I don't want it. I went to my vaccination appointment today and explained this. They said I could have astra zeneca and that it was safe. They said they would not offer Pfizer (which people six feet away were having) because all the doses were allocated. I was advised to get a letter from my GP. However it was my GP who told me to go to the appointment and discuss at the centre. So I left without being vaccinated.

It seems like an impasse.

Has anybody managed to find a way through this?

[quote Totalbeach]**@Totalbeach so tell us who in your view should not be getting the AZ vaccine?

Should it be:

Patients who have experienced major venous and/or arterial thrombosis occurring with thrombocytopenia

Or others as well? Be specific.

Be specific! Like you’re setting me a GCSE question. Bugger off.

How the hell would I know who should get the vaccine when the scientists who invented it don’t even know and the government won’t release any of the information about comorbidities! But in the absence of information and in a swiftly evolving situation that even the scientists failed to predict and still don’t understand, I fully respect an individual’s right to err on the side of caution.[/quote]
Right....so we should have an endless menu of alternatives for everyone who wishes - in their own discretion - to err on the side of caution? It is simply unworkable. You do realise that if everyone could do this, the vaccine programme would never have got this far? Seeing you we unwiling/unable to engage in the science, how about public policy/planning? How precisely would your plan work?

Like the OP your view seems to be that if the person over there is getting Pfizer, I should be able to lie my way into getting it (a suggestion you openly made on this thread). But you must see that would not work at a planning/policy level?

@Crovine

Tell that to the vaccine hub staff *@freeez*. And the people who set the system up.

Thanks @Thisismyname77463 for getting it. I've worked out of home throughout this fucking situation and I'm tired of putting myself at risk.

Then accept the vaccine and stop being a snowflake.

Is there a distinctively British attitude to not encouraging individual healthcare choices? Maybe it’s just a reflection of how the NHS works and how used people are to it. In France it’s the complete opposite - all about having a chat with your doctor about what option is best for you, sheer horror at the idea of mass vaccination centres or vaccines administered by volunteers.

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s part of what makes the vaccine rollout in the U.K. so astonishingly successful in terms of uptake. This idea of ‘roll up your sleeves, take what you’re given and just crack on with it’. But it’s definitely not a common approach in other countries.

Pfizer vaccines are only available in hospitals because it needs specialist fridges as they have a shorter shelf life. If you see a hospital on your booking form then choose that as you'll most like get the Pfizer. Pop up vaccination centres usually offer Astra zeneca vaccines as they're easier to store.

I didn't try - I think

Unfortunately not for me. I'm 25. I got my first because I'm 'extremely vulnerable'. When I went for my second they were concerned

People are really thick if they deliberately seek it out

But I had both jabs and I was fine

If you're over 30 you have no choice other to PFZ

And it's not stupid actually. People like me who are younger have actual risk. You've decided
That you're super at risk and scary.... but have you thought about us who could die? Actual death. No you haven't

I have researched this with widely available research and in the Uk, given the incidence of Covid, you are safer having the az than no vaccine so personally I'd try and go back and eat humble pie.

I won't have the az but I live in Australia where there is no Covid so the risk/benefit analysis is different and in fact here the cut off is 50 for that reason

As I read on Twitter, if your drowning and you get thrown a rubber ring you don’t refuse it and say you’ll wait for the life vest.

I think it’s highly unlikely now that any Pzifer will get allocated for first jabs. Moderna will be here next and you may get that but AZ will be given in most new doses.

You won’t get Pfizer because it’s A) remaining stock is for second jabs b) it’s harder to transport C) about 7 times more expensive

I haven't been offered my vaccine yet but I also want Pfizer. Not because of the blood clot thing because I think that's rare, but everyone I know who has had AZ has had awful side effects.

I do think it's a bit unfair that those of us at the back of the queue have to get AZ while those at the front got Pfizer. There should be a choice.

@Viviennemary

Either take the AZ or do without.

im more than happy to do without

@garlictwist - we've all had the Astra Zeneca jabs (first and second) at my work. No one has suffered with 'awful' side effects out of 28 people.

Maybe 25% of them felt rough for 1 day and had a paracetemol to feel better. No one missed a day off work.

I think if we'd all had Covid instead, there would have
been a lot more people off feeling 'awful'.

Just wait like the rest of us who want to be able to choose.

@TruelyWonder

Seriously wonder about the way other peoples brains work some time. ALL the vaccines will have side effects and risks for some people. Nothing is ever 100%. The experts and scientists weigh up the risks. Not a lot of unqualified people spending to much time over thinking.

Listen to what they tell you. These are the people that worked out AZ was better after a longer gap. Which some countries have now copied. These are the people that realised Pfizer would be fine too. Both things have been proven to be correct in real world data. These are the people that say it is ok for middle aged people. Listen to them.

The different vaccines are needed for second doses, pregnant women and some younger people that are having their jab early. Not for middle aged self appointed experts or people worried about scare stories on social media. If you get offered something different from AZ fine. However don't act like you are entitled to get something else if you are not.

like the scare story in the daily mail about the 50 year old who developed blood clots on his lungs afer the astra zeneca vaccine then ? so as a 49 year old im not supposed to be worried about that ? but here we are with plums like you lecturing away about how entitled op is to actually want a vaccine that has less risk of that happening , there are people in the older age brackets who have died after the az vaccine which is why some countries are not using it even for those age groups

Read the numbers, I saw 1 in 50,000. I have seen 1 in 500,000 people getting clots after the AZ vaccine.
Read the numbers, understand the real risk and then have the AZ vaccine and stop wasting everybody’s time!

@garlictwist

I haven't been offered my vaccine yet but I also want Pfizer. Not because of the blood clot thing because I think that's rare, but everyone I know who has had AZ has had awful side effects.

I do think it's a bit unfair that those of us at the back of the queue have to get AZ while those at the front got Pfizer. There should be a choice.

There isn’t a choice so people just have to accept it.

The side effects are no big deal.

@Lucidas

Is there a distinctively British attitude to not encouraging individual healthcare choices? Maybe it’s just a reflection of how the NHS works and how used people are to it. In France it’s the complete opposite - all about having a chat with your doctor about what option is best for you, sheer horror at the idea of mass vaccination centres or vaccines administered by volunteers.

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s part of what makes the vaccine rollout in the U.K. so astonishingly successful in terms of uptake. This idea of ‘roll up your sleeves, take what you’re given and just crack on with it’. But it’s definitely not a common approach in other countries.

Sounds like a bad idea at this stage if you want to move in quickly.

France sounds difficult yes

@Temp023

Read the numbers, I saw 1 in 50,000. I have seen 1 in 500,000 people getting clots after the AZ vaccine. Read the numbers, understand the real risk and then have the AZ vaccine and stop wasting everybody’s time!

so what if the op is the i in 50.000 getting a clot and dying then , so its fine for her to potentially die but its ok because she hasnt wasted anyones time ! . the face that there are so many people on here who are happy to dissmiss somebodys valid concerns about having a vaccine with deadly side effects are mindblowing

Personally I felt incredibly grateful to live in a country where I was given the opportunity to get vaccinated, am conscious of what a privilege that is, especially as we see the pandemic play out in India and see what could have happened here.

I’m 44, I took the AZ that was offered, felt a bit rough for 24 hours and that’s it. Can’t wait for my second dose and to eventually put all this behind us.

Pretend you are pregnant ?

There is a recognised blood clot risk with the AZ. Many countries have recognised this risk and stopped using AZ for all or for all under 60.
I am in the Birmingham area and have woken today to find that I can book my vaccine. I would like the Pfizer or moderna (the vaccines considered safe for all, including pregnant women and teens) - what is so wrong about that?
So, does anyone know where those vaccines can be found in Birmingham and would I be able to get them??!

As one of the apparently ‘rather odd’ people who has posted the latest clotting stats on another thread, I do that because there are so many misinformed people out there who still believe it’s a ‘one in a million’ risk with AZ. It’s not and your welcome to read the other thread about this.

OP, sorry if this has already been suggested but have you tried booking at a centre that gives out Moderna? We know about a few of those now. Or, you could see if you can be put on a waiting list for any spare Pfizer jabs at the end of a second jab clinic. Good luck!