Are wealthy areas prioritised for Pfizer and poorer areas given AZ?

[BigCoat]

I'm talking about the 40 plus group.

I live in between an affluent and a disadvantaged town.
The affluent area has always received the Pfizer vaccine at its vaccine centre and the other area has always received AZ. I have had both AZ doses.

I have a relative who lives in a different affluent area in another part of the country. She's had Pfizer and seemed surprised we received AZ.

I would like to hear how allocations are decided. Is it a post code lottery or are there those of you in well to do areas only offered AZ and vice versa?

London here. We've had both Pfizer and AZ given on different weeks at the same local vaccination centre.

I live in a northern town which would be considered "economically disadvantaged". We also have one of the highest cases of the delta variant. It's about 50/50 as to whether people have been given pfizer/az (age groups 30-45)

[quote wonkylegs]@BigCoat it's probably because that centre has the facilities to store the Pfizer one in the right conditions (not everywhere has)
AZ can be stored and distributed anywhere so is more flexible

DHs hospital only does Pfizer ones and it's in one of the most deprived areas of the country.
[/quote]
Thank you.

Don't be silly.

No. I went to the same community centre my husband went to for his jag. He got Astra Zeneca and a few weeks later I was getting Pfizer. They said they had two Pfizer vaccines left so they gave me that.

I am in Surrey and it's a mix here, the same centre will have AZ one day and Pfizer the next.

My mum and dad had their jabs in the same week but one had AZ and one Pfizer because of a prior allergic reaction to a vaccine.

@AppleJane

I'm not sure about the rich / poor angle but there definitely seems to be a divide for those on the 'alternatives to AZ' thread who are in their forties and trying to get alternatives. Those in London are seemingly achieving it easily but those in Scotland are struggling and being told it's AZ or nothing. It's not just a storage issue because people were turned away at centres offering both. So there is definitely a difference when it comes to 'free choice' and attitude of allowing a choice.

I live in London and everyone I know hs only been offered AZ

I had AZ, DH had Pfizer. My AZ was done at our local GP, Pfizer was at a vaccination centre.

As I'm under 40 my GP gave me the option of having Pfizer but said it wouldn't be with them as they didn't have the storage facilities for it. I didn't want to wait so I took the one I was offered 🤷🏼‍♀️

I understand our local hospital (fairly deprived area of London, local council has declared bankruptcy) is just giving out Pfizer.

I'm gonna say no. Me and DH had both vaccines at the same place but at different times as I was called early due to health issues. I got Pfizer and he got AZ.

It's just whatever they have got in!

It’s been a massive logistical exercise, that’s been done far more successfully than I would have thought possible. There is no way they could have factored affluence into that, even if they wanted to.

AFAIK in England mass hubs and pharmacies/community hubs did not get Pfizer (only GP hubs and inside hospitals).

Not true, I was vaccinated at a community hub and they were giving both Pfizer and AZ.

My friend had Pfizer her town is definitely not affluent her dh had AZ me and dh have had AZ, I had first dose in March there was an option to do both I suspect you just fancy a little stir of the pot though to suggest that "the plebs" are just worthy of as you see it a lesser vaccine

One of the great things about the UK vaccination program is that in true British tradition there has been a fair and orderly queue with no favouritism for special interest groups or those with influence or money - unlike some other countries.
I know you have accepted you're wrong, but to suggest there's some sort of rich / poor divide is really stirring a pot that doesn't exist.

Definitely not the case.

When I went, my booking in person was a new volunteer and I overheard it explained to her that, at least at this centre, those who'd booked through the SwiftQueue link sent by the GPs were all getting Pfizer. It sounded like which vaccine was by which booking system.

Demographics may be involved, though I think it may be more percentage of CV people rather than wealth and some of it will be space available, storage, and random chance. I'm in a deprived area, but near an arena and there was writing that we've a higher than average CV group in the papers at one point, I think.

Normally you wouldn't know what your getting until the day you walk in, is this a thing now where they invite you and let you know what you will be getting?

When I got the first text about vaccines, it said to book for a Pfizer vaccine but then like a bit later there was a second text saying they could no longer guarantee that.

Everyone I know in NW has had AZ unless they were called by their GP 🙂

@BigCoat it's probably because that centre has the facilities to store the Pfizer one in the right conditions (not everywhere has)
AZ can be stored and distributed anywhere so is more flexible

This is what I came on to say......

Where I live there have been lots of 'pop - up' vaccination hubs which i'm assuming just don't have the facilities to store the Pfizer vaccine.

My parents live in a very wealthy area. DM got AZ; DF Pfizer. HTH

I live in a fairly poor area and our vaccination centre had both.

I'm in Scotland and you just get called to a mass vaccination centre, no picking appointment times, or where you go. I got Moderna, my DP got Pfizer, and both sets of parents (obviously higher priority due to age) got AZ. Our city is a mix of very affluent and pockets of extreme deprivation - everyone would have gone to the same place!

I live in a fairly affluent area. I had Pfizer and DH had AZ.

The mass vaccination centre serving my affluent leafy London suburb only does AstraZeneca but then we have a libdem MP so maybe it is a Tory plot to suppress voters

And the vaccination centre at the Crick in Central London that serves many boroughs is also only doing Astra Xeneca but again it is all they deserve for electing Sadiq.

Couldn’t possibly be that they don’t have the refrigeration facilities for Pfizer?

However badly the government has managed the rest of the pandemic and failed in the basic logistics free of politics and ideology that was required you could not say that of the way the NHS has managed the vaccination round.

Nor did the tiny number of people experiencing serious side effects (I actually did develop blood clots on the contraceptive pill) or any of the stats on effectiveness lead me to believe AstraZeneca is some sort of lesser vaccine let alone a means of social cleansing!

25 years I was on the pill - I should be dead!

@BigCoat

Thanks. I just can't understand why some centres consistently got one type of vaccine for the over 40s, with no variation.

If they consistently just have one type, it's likely logistics. This is quite a reach even for the most ardent of AZ haters.

Errr no. It’s decided by the faculties at the site as Pfizer is more complicated to store. Nothing to with affluence, it’s purely a medication storage issue