Anyone requested an alternative to the AZ at the appointment?

[pinkbabybeck]

Hello, I’m feeling nervous about get the AZ jab. Mainly due to severe health anxiety, increased hereditary risks and I suffer from migraines with Aura.
I’ve got my vaccination booked and I was hoping when I got there I might be able to speak to someone about my concerns and be offered an alternative. Has anyone got any experience of this?
I believe the large site I am booked into has both the AZ and Pfizer.
If they don’t offer me Pfizer, am I able to walk away without having it?
Thanks in advance.

Sites don’t hold stocks of Pfizer. Depending on their capacity they will rip through it. Some will clear out a box within a day. But at most it will be there for a few days and they will have people booked in to use it. Even for 2nd doses they order the minimum needed. A supply can be as small as 90 doses.

Plus, and it is a clear instruction, people aren’t given a choice. Even if the option is available. Because that’s not something that can be offered to all, only to people with specific needs.

If Pfizer is only being used for second doses & you persuaded them to give you one (you won't, if there isn't a good reason, and anxiety isn't a good reason) you might struggle to find somewhere with Pfizer for your second dose in 3 months.
People are hopeless at assessing risk. The risk is miniscule, AZ has had bad press because it's not making shareholders any money. Look at India & other poorer countries, they would give anything to get vaccination, any vaccination.

I think you'd be better talking to your gp about your concerns.

See your GP or consultant if there is a genuine clinical reason for needing Pfizer and they can arrange. If it is just preference based on your views then no you can't just get Pfizer as you fancy it and if you are not going to take the AZ why waste your and the centres time

@Jujean

OP: yes, you can refuse AZ and walk away. The vaccine does not get wasted - it just means someone else will get the jab. My partner got the AZ a week ago through a walk-in at the science museum - he was eligible age wise but had not booked and chanced it. They agreed to jab him even though he did not have an appointment.

And if you change your mind down the line you can still get vaccinated even if you have missed or turned down an appointment.

Re Pfizer/Moderna vs AZ, AZ has had the highest blood clot incidents to date (hence the partial bans in various countries) but overall the risk is small either way.

the vaccine itself won't be wasted but if you go along and refuse that will be one person who missed out that day.

@MRex

If you have health anxiety and believe your migraine fines you a specific risk factor (unclear where you've read that as I haven't seen anything), then you should speak with your GP to make sure you are comfortable with the vaccination process before deciding whether or not to proceed. It isn't appropriate to take up a lot of time at the vaccination centre, nor to take a slot if you won't be vaccinated. Please leave the slots for those who want to use them.

This is excellent advice.

I volunteer at a vaccine hub. Today was an AZ day and I had 3 women ask if they could have Pfizer instead. We didn't have any Pfizer today so that's not an option in any case. I explained that Pfizer is being used for second doses only and that if they have a genuine medical reason they'd need to discuss it with their doctor.

I suggested that they all go through to the vaccinator and ask them and that no one would force them to have AZ. I don't know if these women had the vaccine or left unvaccinated. We have found that vaccinations take longer on AZ days, because of all the extra discussion.

To be honest, I do an internal eye roll when people ask if they can have Pfizer instead.

The other thing we could do without is people asking for "spares". There are so many threads on MN where people suggest asking for spares and it just adds to our workload.

@pinkbabybeck

Hello, I’m feeling nervous about get the AZ jab. Mainly due to severe health anxiety, increased hereditary risks and I suffer from migraines with Aura. I’ve got my vaccination booked and I was hoping when I got there I might be able to speak to someone about my concerns and be offered an alternative. Has anyone got any experience of this? I believe the large site I am booked into has both the AZ and Pfizer. If they don’t offer me Pfizer, am I able to walk away without having it? Thanks in advance.

Unlikely

1. They may not have an alternative
2. They may have all the doses of the alternatives allocated (v likely).
3. When you book appointments, you're almost certainly assigned a particular vaccine, so if you changed your first jab, the second appt would also need to be "fixed".

If it IS possible, your best chance will be towards the end of the day, when you may be lucky enough to get a spare dose, due to a missed appointment - they'd probably then cancel your second appt and get you to rebook it.

But tbh, I think they'll tell you to go home, cancel the appointments and rebook both.

Of course you can walk away if it's AZ. You have every right to choose. Don't let people guilt you - this is your (very serious) decision to make.

Pfizer does not carry the same risks and it's not political. This is nonsense. Even our own medical bodies are clear that these clots are not occurring with Pfizer.

Here you are, WebMD report of a pre-print study:

"CVT has been reported to occur in about 5 per million people after a first dose of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine. In more than 480,000 people receiving either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, CVT occurred in 4 per million."

"A similar pattern was seen in portal vein thrombosis (PVT) blood clots ... 44.9 per million for the Pfizer-Moderna vaccine group, and 1.6 per million for those receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine."

The main thrust of the article (including where I've left a bit out and put ... , aiming for greater clarity) is that thromboses are seen many times more following a Covid infection than a vaccine.

And Pfizer’s risk of an anaphylactic shock? We don’t hear much about it but if you suffer from allergies they won’t give you the Pfizer.

Of course you will be able to walk away, it is totally your choice and you shouldn’t feel pressured into anything you are not comfortable with.

You won’t be able to request Pfizer though, as others have stated all vaccines have been pre allocated and you will not know which you’ll be offered until you get there. It may be that they are only using one particular vaccine on that day so everyone will get the same. Or it could be that they have both vaccines on site but use one for first doses and one for second doses. (That’s what they did when I went)

I’m not sure if they administer both vaccines in tandem at time though. you have a 50/50 chance of being offered Pfizer but no way of finding out before hand.

You might have better luck if you find somewhere that has Moderna.

My DH asked. They said if you can have AZ then you get AZ. They had Pfizer in stock but it was only for people who couldn’t have AZ. He was told to accept AZ or wait for another jab such as Moderna or Valneva - but Pfizer would never be offered to him.