Will a vaccine centre give 16yo a second jab?

[Lemons1571]

Second jab booked for this weekend. Will they give it when he has no underlying conditions?

When he had the first jab, the walk in centre were very vague on booking the second jab - some of the people working there said yes book it for 8 weeks, others said don’t book it as he’s not eligible. I think another person said nothing had been decided so they didn’t know if he should book a second jab or not.

So we went online and it let us book. This time a local centre

It makes me absolutely fucking livid that we are still behind everyone else in Europe on this yet have the worst case numbers. And I don't think you should be prevented from travelling anywhere or require any additional tests if you are simply not allowed to have a vaccination because of your ridiculous, incompetent government.

Ds is 16 and has had two. He was given the appointment automatically after his first dose. He isn’t cev.

We actually didn’t turn up, assuming it was cancelled and got a call from the hospital saying “where are you?”

I asked at a vaccination bus parked next to the university about my daughter's vaccination. She had her first one in August. She's now 17, but they said that you can only have the second dose when you are 17 and three-quarters. I didn't mention that I was CEV (not severely immunosuppressed though) so I don't know if that makes a difference. They would do a booster dose for those eligible 182 days after the second dose (this has just been changed from 180 days). At her school, they gave all the 12-15 yo a first dose plus the flu nasal spray.

sarah did you know the nasal flu (Fluenz) manufacturing guidelines say initially to give two doses? Unless you've a chronic health condition, in the U.K we only give one as that deemed 'good enough'. Parents aren't told that.

@cptartapp

sarah did you know the nasal flu (Fluenz) manufacturing guidelines say initially to give two doses? Unless you've a chronic health condition, in the U.K we only give one as that deemed 'good enough'. Parents aren't told that.

That's in the first year a recipient has it - after that it's single dose.

I don't know how the British protocols came in to being - but it's been like that for years now. What is the expected difference in protection levels between the 2x in first year followed by 1x annually, and just 1x annually all along?

(And isn't that the case for certain injectables too? Or did I imagine reading that?)

DD16 tried to blag one earlier this week; she had her first in early August as soon as they were allowed and really wants her second so she can see her CEV cousin slightly more freely. I strongly suspected that they would send her away and I was right. It's daft, there she was wanting to improve the country's vaccination effort and she was sent away

@cptartapp

sarah did you know the nasal flu (Fluenz) manufacturing guidelines say initially to give two doses? Unless you've a chronic health condition, in the U.K we only give one as that deemed 'good enough'. Parents aren't told that.

There is also the issue that school vaccination teams are doing up to 16 year olds and you can't be vaccinated in pharmacy's until you are over 18.

So 17 year olds will be given the flu vaccine by doctors which will be well into the 'flu' season and probably not till next January/February. But they will be blamed for the increase spread of the flu virus.

Clutterbugsmum I've just booked my (Y12) 16 year old into Boots for a private flu vaccine because of this. I intend to do everything I can to stop him from getting more ill than he already is.

@WhatHaveIFound

Clutterbugsmum I've just booked my (Y12) 16 year old into Boots for a private flu vaccine because of this. I intend to do everything I can to stop him from getting more ill than he already is.

Yes bigger branches of Boots will give private flu jabs to 12-15 year olds: link here: www.boots.com/online/pharmacy-services/winter-flu-jab-services

It's daft, there she was wanting to improve the country's vaccination effort and she was sent away
I agree it's daft, but them's the rules, so it's not the vaccination staff's fault. I'm guessing they will all be offered another dose in a few months.

@HarebrightCedarmoon

It makes me absolutely fucking livid that we are still behind everyone else in Europe on this yet have the worst case numbers. And I don't think you should be prevented from travelling anywhere or require any additional tests if you are simply not allowed to have a vaccination because of your ridiculous, incompetent government.

This.

And I don't think you should be prevented from travelling anywhere or require any additional tests if you are simply not allowed to have a vaccination because of your ridiculous, incompetent government

So what’s the suggested solution?

I understand the annoyance of many about this but foreign governments have set their own individual, bespoke, entry requirements and the Brits are unlikely to get a waiver from those simply because their government’s own vaccination policy is non-compliant with whatever the local rules are demanding for entry.

I got my second jab 8 weeks after my first by going to a walk in centre.

DD who is 16, hasn't managed to get a second jab. Annoyingly her school have vaccinated 12-15yr olds for flu, but we would have to pay for her to have it, yet the NHS says children up to 17yrs old can have the nasal spray.

‘ So what’s the suggested solution?’

The blindingly obvious - give all teenagers two jabs. Especially after all the ‘you must have your second jab for proper protection’ that we’ve been told for months now. Apparently the UK thinks that’s only true for adults 🙄

You do understand the UK is the outlier here, once again.

The advice has been very confusing. My 17 year old had his first / only jab in August, when the advice for a second jab had changed from 11-12 weeks to 8 weeks. At that point I was expecting him to get a second one in October. However the vaccinator told him to come back in 3 weeks for his second! I wasn't sure he'd heard right / understood so I went over and double checked, several staff said yes it's fine he can have second jab any time after 19 days!! I had never heard this advice so went and checked on gov.uk website, which specifically said 16-17 year olds should not at this time have a second dose. So not at 3 weeks, not at 8 weeks, not even at all! Very confusing though when actual vaccination site staff are giving this conflicting advice! As it stands he has not had a second dose but he'll be 18 in a few months so I'm not sure what will happen then?

Just to echo what PPs have said. I have a cousin in the US whose 13 year old daughter had two doses of the vaccine even before my 17 year old had had one. And I also have a friend in Spain whose 13 and 14 year olds had two doses, 3 weeks apart. So it really does seem we are doing things very differently here from other countries.

@Schulte

‘ So what’s the suggested solution?’

The blindingly obvious - give all teenagers two jabs. Especially after all the ‘you must have your second jab for proper protection’ that we’ve been told for months now. Apparently the UK thinks that’s only true for adults 🙄

Even I get the “blindingly obvious” ??

My point was that I got the impression (and I may be wrong, if so I apologise) that HarebrightCedar thought that other countries ought to cut the Brits some slack because of UK govs current policy.

It seems a bit of a shitshow tbh. My 17 Yr old has had one but told definitely won't get another. Still waiting on younger dcs school to give more info about when they're doing the vaccines. We're not going away until next summer and I'm just hoping things have improved by then and we won't have to worry about not being 'properly' vaccinated or constantly testing etc

Ah sorry, then I misunderstood. They absolutely shouldn’t.

Rule is that under 18's only get one dose, unless the first was given within 3 months of their 18th birthday in which case they can book a second. This applies to everyone unless they fall into one of the identified categories as being at special risk for whatever reason.
No-one will deviate from this and turning up anywhere to push for it will end in disappointment.
I'm not saying I think the rule is necessarily correct and I think it may change, but that's the current situation. The booking system has been the worst element of the whole programme in terms of errors and inconsistencies but has been dealing with unprecedented demand and constant shifting of goalposts.
I work in a vaccination centre.

Dirty all those with chronic illness under age 9 should have two flu vaccines first time and then one dose thereafter. This applies to injectable flu vaccine too if unable to have live Fluenz. The product SPC advises two doses first time for all, but in the UK if no chronic illness we only give one.
Healthy 17 year olds without a health condition aren't entitled to one at all. GP's certainly aren't giving them.

Yes there are a few countries like Malta and Cyprus that aren’t letting unvaccinated children.

Problem is there are concerns about the risks of a second vaccine outweighing the risk of Covid that’s why at the moment it’s just one jab