Anyone managed to get their 5-11 year old vaccinated yet?

[FoodSchmood]

As household contacts of a CEV person my kids are now eligible for Covid vaccination (link here for anyone unaware).

I'm trying to get it organised, but the GP say they don't do it, the local vaccination team say they don't do it and the schools immunisation team (both local and county) say they don't do it either. Each pass me to the other! I know systems for extra vaccinations for CEV folk and their households have been badly organised and know it may take some time for the local health authorities to organise it, but I'm posting in the hopes that someone has managed it, so we can try whatever they did to get theirs done! :)

(and i'll say upfront I'm not looking for a debate about vaccinating children, thanks!)

No shed here so we'll have to get the tent out. Perhaps if we put it near the compost heap it'll provide warmth and veg.

But after 22 months of living a half life (not even that really) now that they are finally eligible I just want to get my kids vaccinated as fast as humanly possible

The reality is they're not finally eligible yet but plans are being put in place for them to be eligible soon

In other news, Immunosuppressed Teen can have a surprise booster at the weekend.

As long as he doesn't get himself infected in the next couple of days (fingers crossed).

@Wellbythebloodyhell

But after 22 months of living a half life (not even that really) now that they are finally eligible I just want to get my kids vaccinated as fast as humanly possible

The reality is they're not finally eligible yet but plans are being put in place for them to be eligible soon

I understand what you mean (eligibility in practical terms means the NHS is set up to deliver not just the gov says they are) but when I say eligible I mean the gov has signed off. Which they have.

"JCVI has advised that household contacts of individuals who are immunosuppressed aged 5 to 11 are also now eligible for both doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty vaccine, with an 8-week dose interval." is the exact wording on the gov.uk website.

Knowing that with previous doses for adult household contacts of CEV there was a lot of variability from area to area as to when they started vaccinating those household contacts, it seems best not to just sit at home and wait for someone to call, but to pro-actively get in touch and make sure that us vulnerable aren't getting forgotten and that the local powers that be are focused on organising these things. Certainly today when I contacted my GP she had no idea, when she contacted the local vaccine hub they were sure it was the schools vaccination team. And the schools vaccination team just knew it wasn't them, but said to try the vaccination hub again. Maybe higher ups are making plans, or maybe they aren't but if people are calling and chasing it, it's more likely to get sorted quickly imo.

@herecomesthsun

In other news, Immunosuppressed Teen can have a surprise booster at the weekend.

As long as he doesn't get himself infected in the next couple of days (fingers crossed).

Hurrah! Fingers crossed for you that he stays well!

Yes my older one is due in about 2 weeks if it's still 12 weeks between 2nd jab and the booster.

@FoodSchmood and @Wellbythebloodyhell Try your local CCG?

I emailed ours today, they have a lead doctor for vaccines.

I will see what he says.

@herecomesthsun My GP surgery has been very involved with the local vaccine hub/roll out - I think one of the partners is part of the vaccine hub management team. I've fed back to them today that no one has a plan for 5-11 year olds yet and I know the school immunisation team has raised this with their management too (following several calls today from parents like me) so I'm going to wait a day or two to see if anyone comes back to me with an update before I chase any further. CCG is a good idea though! :)

but if people are calling and chasing it, it's more likely to get sorted quickly imo.

Or plans are delayed due to time spent answering endless eligibility queries like this over and over instead of actually getting on with the planning and logistics . If you want believe that persistent calling and chasing will get you something earlier then fine , but IME not IMO, vaccines are generally opened up to new cohorts once they're satisfied they've offered vaccines to the previous cohorts not because people are kicking up a fuss

Keep me posted :) If I hear back from the local hospital I'll update.

@Wellbythebloodyhell

but if people are calling and chasing it, it's more likely to get sorted quickly imo.

Or plans are delayed due to time spent answering endless eligibility queries like this over and over instead of actually getting on with the planning and logistics . If you want believe that persistent calling and chasing will get you something earlier then fine , but IME not IMO, vaccines are generally opened up to new cohorts once they're satisfied they've offered vaccines to the previous cohorts not because people are kicking up a fuss

Actually, discussing cases with the hospital team etc. raises awareness of people's situations, and the CCG have sent me information previously which I shared with the hospital team, who hadn't seen it.

So, as long as we are polite and appropriate, I don't see much of an issue really.

Especially if we use a medium like email or text, where the person we contact can reply at leisure.

And if I hadn't spoken to the 119 person today, my son wouldn't be most likely having a booster at the weekend (and he is probably relatively vulnerable compared with some of the young adults with no health conditions who will have had theirs before him).

"Or plans are delayed due to time spent answering endless eligibility queries like this over and over instead of actually getting on with the planning and logistics "

Given that 2 of the 3 places I spoke to weren't aware that 5-11 year olds were now eligible I think it's safe to say I haven't got in the way of ongoing planning! The folks answering the phones aren't usually the ones doing the planning - it's the senior staff that do that. The volume of (polite, short) calls coming in, that get flagged up to those senior staff will help raise the profile of the issue. Can't see how that slows things down.

As I said above, having flagged it to the people who all thought someone else was responsible I'm now stepping back and waiting to see what response I get. I'm not persistently calling and chasing.

I've lived with a nasty auto-immune disease for over 20 years and sadly my experience has been that you often have to be pro-active and involved in your care otherwise you get forgotten/pushed to the back of the priority list.

My DP only got his booster (eligible early because of me) thanks to us chasing it up. I suspect the same will be true for my kids. I'm not calling repeatedly and making a nuisance of myself. But i'm not going to sit passively by and wait months for something that will probably happen more quickly if I am pro-active. My kids deserve to get back out in the world. 22 months to a 6 year old is an eternity.

Update from me. DH contacted the local CCG and they think it will be towards the end of the month.

The children's vaccine (smaller dose) isn't yet available. It will be later in January.

I mean physically available - no vials yet.

Ah, useful to know. Thanks Janet.

They children’s dose is smaller so has to be ordered so although eligible the physical vaccines won’t be delivered and ready to issue until the end of January. At the moment GPS are compiling the lists of eligible children, which means nothing as the guidance is not clear on who is eligible and despite the guidance for 12-15 year olds being much clearer our GP still couldn’t sort it out.

I went round this loop with my older dc who was in the 12-15 household group Angel.

@PastMyBestBeforeDate

I went round this loop with my older dc who was in the 12-15 household group Angel.

Yes I had to contact the vaccine coordinator for our area directly to get my eldest’s second dose because despite the battle to get the GP to do the first dose they hadn’t / wouldn’t organise the second dose. Now waiting for the same fun experience to try and get DD vaccinated as she is 10.

Exactly the same Angel. Every dose so far has required a huge amount of effort.

I got a text from the GP surgery to say my child is eligible now for the vaccine.
I phoned them to make the appointment. They told me to call the 119 number. 119 said if the text came from the GP to make the appointment through them.
Called the GP back, they told me they aren’t doing them and to go to a walk in centre. Called my local walk in centre they said they couldn’t do it.
And breathe!

I've been trying to get an answer on this too! I'm CEV and so worried my 11yo will bring it back from his school (of well over 1000 pupils). He's not 12 for another 6 months. The back to school cold which went through left me hospitalised.

My GP didn't know and sent me to 119 who hadn't got it on their system yet and didn't know anything about it. So I emailed the Health Security Agency who published the press release, they couldn't help and they've sent me on to NHS England and I'm waiting to hear back.

Love being sent round the houses!

@FoodSchmood @RatherbeinCanada - vaccination of at risk 5-11 and 5-11 household contacts of immunosuppressed people is going to start at the end of January, largely because that’s when the new supply of special paediatric Pfizer is available, and it takes a surprising amount of time to sort out all the other things needed to vaccinate an entirely new group. The paediatric vaccine supply literally isn’t in the country yet.

It will be done largely through GPs already participating in the programme, although they’ve been given the opportunity to opt out, cos they’ve got an awful lot else on. It’s likely most of them will do it - it’s not actually a huge number of children per practice. Some hospitals will also vaccinate eligible children under their care.

For the household contacts, the vulnerable person will get a letter from their GP letting them know their 5-11 year old household contacts are eligible, and how to book.

You’ll be interested to read this letter from NHS England to GPs and vaccination sites about it all. There will be another more detailed letter to them soon.

@Angel2702

They children’s dose is smaller so has to be ordered so although eligible the physical vaccines won’t be delivered and ready to issue until the end of January. At the moment GPS are compiling the lists of eligible children, which means nothing as the guidance is not clear on who is eligible and despite the guidance for 12-15 year olds being much clearer our GP still couldn’t sort it out.

@Angel2702 - the guidance is actually clear on who’s eligible - it’s the “at risk” group listed in table 4 of the Green Book here. This was set out in the NHS England letter of 23 December, which was sent the day after JCVI recommended vaccination this age group (linked in my other post).

@Wigeon super useful, thank you!