I’m going to have to cancel my holiday, I’m not classed as fully vaccinated.

[Synctfsi]

We’ve booked a holiday for the end of September, as myself and DH are fully vaccinated we don’t have to quarantine on return.

My first vaccine was AstraZeneca and my second
was Pfizer.

I’ve read in the news tonight about the UK now changing their description of what counts as fully vaccinated, and it states that you have to have received two doses of the same vaccine.
(formerly two doses of any approved vaccine)

Im gutted. What does this mean for me in terms of freedom within the UK? If places start asking for proof of vaccination, will I be denied entry now?

If I’m not classed as fully vaccinated does this mean I don’t have good protection against Covid?!

@gogohm

Contact your gp by email (via the nhs app) and state what you have here, ask if you should have a second Pfizer

There is no need for a second Pfizer.

The op will not be given one.

The issue is with a totally unfair government rule. The op should contact her MP.

I think in your circumstances I'd see if I could get a second Pfizer on the back of this, I'd love to have a third dose as we go into winter. Statically speaking, mixing vaccines is always going to offer the best protection, as you should end up with the widest range of slightly different shaped antibodies which makes you more likely to cope with variants.

I think in your circumstances I'd see if I could get a second Pfizer on the back of this

Based on what? She has had two approved vaccine doses.

Based on the fact that they are now moving the goalposts and apparently calling her not fully vaccinated in some contexts and a third dose of any vaccine is a good thing for covid immunity - which I personally want as much of as I can get.

@Sonarl

Based on the fact that they are now moving the goalposts and apparently calling her not fully vaccinated in some contexts and a third dose of any vaccine is a good thing for covid immunity - which I personally want as much of as I can get.

The goalposts need to be moved back. This is a political error in quarantine policy and that needs to be changed. There is already evidence mixing vaccines produces good immunity and it’s only a tiny minority of people who have been vaccinated this way.

I am embarrassed we’re even talking about giving totally healthy people third dose boosters when so many of the poor countries in the world have had zero vaccinations. Apart from clinically vulnerable people or exceptional circumstances, we need to support other countries to vaccinate their populations when we’ve finished ours.

@FATEdestiny

Go to a drop in centre tomorrow and become fully vaccinated by having a second dose. 14 days on from then (still August) you will be fully vaccinated.

Don't do this. It takes your first dose and your last dose so you'll still show as having Pfizer and AZ

Angela Merkel mixed vaccines (one AZ, one Moderna). If it’s good enough for the Chancellor of Germany, who used to be a research scientist, it should be good enough for anyone!

I don't disagree with you. It's an error. But it doesn't help the few people like OP in the meantime does it? Do you have confidence the error will be rectified before she wants to travel? Which is likely to solve the problem first? A second does of one of them or our government rectifying the error?

I agree about prioritising first does worldwide now, but, as you say, this only affects a statistically insignificant number of people in this country, through no fault of their own, so if a third dose is required to rectify the error for them, I am comfortable with that.

I am also comfortable with my CEV group 4 family member having a booster, as well as my age 12-15 children having 2 vaccines once we catch up with the rest of Europe and finally allow vaccination of 12-15y olds.

The more people on the planet with good immunity the better for me and it's the well off westerners that travel and spread the virus through that route, whether we like it or not.

Overlay though, yes, more first doses before routine third doses, of course. But I would get one like a shot if I could, especially mixed vaccine.

I don't disagree with you. It's an error. But it doesn't help the few people like OP in the meantime does it? Do you have confidence the error will be rectified before she wants to travel? Which is likely to solve the problem first? A second does of one of them or our government rectifying the error?

She will not be given a third dose by the NHS so her best bet is to hope the details won’t be checked or create a massive fuss with her mp.

Everyone that's in the COVcom (1 and 2) trials (mixing vaccines) has been told they won't be disadvantaged in any way, their issues (like ours on the Novavax trial) have been in getting proof of trial vaccinations into the app, especially if Novavax has been involved. You're one step ahead there so I can't see this change in policy being held up. As PPs have said, mixing vaccines has proven to be effective - consider yourself a one woman clinical trial study and have a read on the NIHR site for advice for people on the covcom trials.

People who took part in vaccine trials also don't have a passport record, even if they received the "real deal" - and neither do people who had one vaccine in England and one in Scotland or Wales because they moved between does or got a first through their job in another nation and second through their local GP.

You are caught in the beaucratic nonsense of a system that doesn't work.

Theres a few people caught in this at the moment.

First are those who have been on vaccine trials. They havent had an approved vaccine so aren't being registered as such, despite their willingness to take the risk of trials for the benefit of others and the trials saying they are effective. The lack of approval in both the uk and the rest of the world is creating barriers. Its leading to people abandoning important trials to get third and fourth doses.

Then theres those who got doses in different parts of the uk. Computer systems in England, Wales, Scotland and NI were not set up to be compatible so people are vaccinated but their records aren't showing it.

Then you have people who have medical need for extra doses. There was a lady on tv this week who because shed had a stem cell transplant or something it meant they had deliberately removed her immunity in practice to tackle cancer so they knew and recommended she get redosed but because the computer says shes been vaccinated she cant.

This is what happens when computer system dictate our lives and there is no mechanism for human error or exceptional circumstances. We should all be wary of the issue and not treat systems as godlike tellers of truth which can not be questioned or altered.

It’s not statistically insignificant- it’s huge numbers of Europeans or Brits living in Europe. As a PP said if it’s good enough for Merkel…

But that’s probably why they’ve done it.

You are caught in the beaucratic nonsense of a system that doesn't work.

I think this sums it up. And wait until you see the UK Passenger Locator forms that you have to fill in on return to the UK if you do manage to leave the country. Final proof, if any was needed, that this government does not have a grip on anything to do with logic or science with regard to covid and travel.

It’s absolutely crazy, isn’t it. As a resident of a European country, I can travel all over the continent with nothing but a flash of my phone screen, and the only country I can’t actually visit is the one whose passport I hold.

Ridiculous isn't it? Welcome to the reality of Brexit I guess and our barley competent government.

What do you flash on your phone to travel in Europe? Just your QR that says you're double vaccinated? You don't have to do covid tests on way out or way in like UK residents?

Tbh its one of the reasons i dont want to go abroad this year. The lack of international standardisation and communication between nations means it leaves people at the mercy of cock ups.

Both DH and I had the AZ indian batch, so im particularly nervous about it.

Im more inclined to wait it out and for issues to be ironed out without me being caught up in the cockups.

That is more difficult if you are also caught up in domestic issues.

Tbh i think the vaccine volunteers have been particularly let down and that rests with government who are fully aware of the problem. It will destroy willingness of individuals to take part in future clinical trials.

I know, I hate Brexit so much. On the phone it’s the EU green pass, it has space on it for the vaccines OR a negative pcr if you’re unvaccinated. It’s simple and 27 countries managed to work with it!

Can you get a second Pfizer? Talk to your GP

@MrsSkylerWhite

Can you get a second Pfizer? Talk to your GP

Don’t bother your gp with this. You can’t get a third vaccine shot when you’ve had two.

This is an admin problem.

Why are people still telling OP to get another dose? RTFT. It's not possible. The system simply won't allow her to get one. Everything is digitally recorded and if ever there was a situation where the computer can say "No", this is it.

You say that but, at one point, due to a long and complicated story, my DH had 2 appts one day apart for his second vaccine - one at the local GP centre arranged by them and one at the national centre arranged online by him. He went to the GP place on the day of the second second one to try and cancel it (couldn't get through on phone) and they were quite prepared to give it to him, no questions asked, until he insisted he didnt want it. This was awhile ago though to be fair as he was group 4. Do they check when you go for a second now what you've previously had? Though of course this would still be a massive mess online and anyway as PP said, she'd have to have a second AZ for there to be any chance of the third one overwriting the second Pfizer in your online record and obviously that would defeate the purpose of switching to Pfizer in the first place. Not suggesting this, just morbidly curious as to how the system works (or doesn't).

Do they check when you go for a second now what you've previously had?

Yes. Dh got his second as a walk in with no information about his first with him. They just look it all up. Mine was a scheduled appointment at a vaccination centre. Again they had my records open and recorded what I was given. They don’t just rely on the little cards.

Yes there might be issues with individuals but the majority will have everything easily available to be checked. They know we all need access to this information for travel and possibly venue access from autumn.

@PurpleDaisies

Do they check when you go for a second now what you've previously had?

Yes. Dh got his second as a walk in with no information about his first with him. They just look it all up. Mine was a scheduled appointment at a vaccination centre. Again they had my records open and recorded what I was given. They don’t just rely on the little cards.

Yes there might be issues with individuals but the majority will have everything easily available to be checked. They know we all need access to this information for travel and possibly venue access from autumn.

I really hope this doesn’t mean I won’t be able to access places in the UK from autumn 😣

I really hope this doesn’t mean I won’t be able to access places in the UK from autumn😣

They’ll change it. They’ll have to. It’s really unfair to people who have had to have a different vaccine or have been in a study.