Sister had to sign a consent form for AZ !

[blessedbethefruits]

My sister lives in Italy. She had her first dose of AZ and has now been told she has to sign a contest form if she wishes to go ahead with her second dose of AZ.

The consent form lists the risks of the second dose and asks her to sign that she agrees that she is going against the government’s advice (Gov advise to have Pfizer as the second dose)

Her preference was to stay with the same dose and now she’s really put off with having to sign a consent form so hasn’t had a second dose at all..!!

I don’t understand why she has to consent to accept the risks of a second AZ but not to have a different vaccine altogether.

She did say a lot of people her age feel the same way, so surely a lot of young Italians will not be fully vaccinated if faced with this.

Oh interesting. I didn't get a form or anything at my second one, or my first one. Mine was quite a local hub though and it actually closed a week after I had my second dose! Think they could only do AZ and everyone old enough to have it here is already done.

@blessedbethefruits

I’m in the UK - where we do not mix vaccines, so I completely understand how worried my sister is feeling. It’s a worry that she’s being asked to sign that she’s taking a risk, against official advice, for accepting a vaccine she’s already had. Yet they are advising her to mix a vaccine when there’s not sufficient evidence that this is even safe.

I just checked the updated ministry circular about this. (5 days ago) The consent is not to have the second dose of AZ, it's to say you are happy to have a second dose of a different vaccine "as recommended by EMA". Those who don't consent to a second dose of a different Vax will be offered AZ "in spite of advice given to them by the relevant authorities" So it's saying up to you to decide, but don't say you weren't warned. It still holds true that more people have died subsequent to Pfizer than AZ anyway!

I think though, despite the wording, the basic premise remains, we have to sign for everything here, not just medical stuff. As pp has said, it's an arse covering technique.

I’m not sure why signing the consent is such an issue if she would prefer AZ, she must have seen the news and be aware of the potential issues. It would be stranger if they didn’t officially acknowledge the change in advice, surely. M I’m in Italy too and it’s very normal to have to sign before medical stuff. If the advice has changed then the consent form signed prior to the first dose is no longer valid for the second. My friend who had AZ then Pfizer had to sign each time as they are different vaccines with different side effects, ingredients etc. Of course the updated consent will include the updated advice, which is not to have AZ below a certain age.

The government have done their risk assessment and are advising Pfizer, if her personal assessment is different and she would prefer AZ she can still have that.

Based on news reports though it sounds like mixing might be the most effective option (and lots of EU countries are already doing this).

Just to add, I have had to sign medical-legal forms in Italy before stating I was knowingly going against medical advice (e.g. once, I needed an X-ray but waiting would have meant missing my 12-week scan at another hospital, so to leave and come back I had to sign, even though doctors thought it was sensible). There is always a lot of paperwork here and you have to sign for very specific stuff. They are just covering themselves.

@blessedbethefruits No, I'm U.K.

I'd love to have the same choice that people in Italy (and Canada, Australia, Germany, Denmark, etc, etc) are being given and have Pfizer as a second dose, but obviously either the UK government have info that all these other countries don't have, which is why they are still insisting on AZ for the over 40's, or they don't mind a bit of collateral damage if it means saving a few quid.

I

"Due to how the approved vaccines all stimulate an immune response through the spike protein, the EMA believes there is good reason to believe that mixing vaccines is both safe and effective."

If I were her I would get the second dose of any vaccine she prefers. But get the second dose!

www.politico.eu/article/medicines-regulator-positive-on-early-data-on-mixing-coronavirus-vaccines/