NHS staff no longer at front of queue for Covid vaccine after rethink (England)

[Northerner]

NHS staff in England will no longer be among the first people to be vaccinated against Covid-19 after a rethink about who should be given priority.

Hospitals will instead begin by immunising care home staff, and inpatients and outpatients aged over 80. The change is likely to disappoint and worry health service staff, some of whom had already booked appointments to get immunised.

Frontline personnel were due to have the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine when the NHS starts rolling it out, probably next Tuesday, after the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approved it on Wednesday.

Separately, NHS bosses said the 800,000 doses that comprise the UK’s first consignment from Pfizer’s manufacturing plant in Belgium may be “the only batch we receive for some time”, raising questions about how soon further supplies will arrive.

NHS staff no longer at front of queue for Covid vaccine after rethink

Change to priority list for next few weeks likely to worry and disappoint health workers

www.theguardian.com

So, the message on vaccine priority has become unclear in a day 🙄 I wonder if this government will ever learn about managing expectations?

 

[eggyg]

Last night I listened to JVT and Doris telling us about the vaccine and how the vulnerable amongst us would be done by April. Like JVT I was emotional but also I knew, like all the promises we’ve been given in the last few months, it probably wasn’t going to materialise. Looks like my prediction was correct. Talk’s cheap.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Hospitals will instead begin by immunising care home staff, and inpatients and outpatients aged over 80.

I thought it was the other way around, that they were hoping to do care home staff and patients, but logistically it was much easier to do hospital staff (and any other priority people who could get to a hospital) because they weren't sure whether they could split these large packages of doses and safely transport them for use in care homes. And then Scotland said they were sure they could do that and would be doing care homes first.

So, the message on vaccine priority has become unclear in a day

And as Paul Merton said on Have I got News for You, vaccines are a good news story so just tell it as it is, nicely and clearly, without any metaphors or other nonsense.

 

[nonethewiser]

Separately, NHS bosses said the 800,000 doses that comprise the UK’s first consignment from Pfizer’s manufacturing plant in Belgium may be “the only batch we receive for some time”, raising questions about how soon further supplies will arrive

Oxford vaccine will be approved soon, according to Telegraph single dose of Pfizer is £29.47 where Oxford is £2.23. You can guess which dose will be priority to vaccinate the masses.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

You can guess which dose will be priority to vaccinate the masses.

We've bought lots more doses of the Oxford/AstraZenica one, and it can go in regular fridges. So yes, no surprise if it's the one most of us get.

 

[eggyg]

Also AstraZenica are doing it as a not for profit vaccine, hence the much lower price.

 

[Eddy Edson]

Worth noting:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1334146138631499777

Grist for the anti-vaxxer mill, no doubt.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Grist for the anti-vaxxer mill, no doubt.

It also casts some doubt on the effectiveness of the blinding in the trials (particularly those using a saline placebo). (So, if anything, I'd expect vaccine effectiveness to be underestimated by some trials.)

 

[mikeyB]

I don’t think it affects the blinding, because in a double blind trial, no matter what drug or vaccine you test, folk getting placebo will get side effects too. So it’s not just double blinding, it’s double fooling. Picking the data out of that is the challenge.

 

[mikeydt1]

if there are unknowns about the vaccine then it might not look good to start injecting NHS staff and they begin to drop like flies. better to inject general population and see what happens then deal with the aftermath later.

 

[nonethewiser]

if there are unknowns about the vaccine then it might not look good to start injecting NHS staff and they begin to drop like flies. better to inject general population and see what happens then deal with the aftermath later.

They don't have luxury of time to sit & wait.

Can't find recent figures, in August 620 deaths among NHS & Care workers were linked to covid, most tv radio Dr's say they have no issues taking vaccine when offered. .

 

[trophywench]

Well Pete went for a test yesterday - positive. I'm supposed to isolate myself from him but oddly they don't explain how to do that! Not even like we can sleep in separate bedrooms in a one bedroom bungalow - hall, bedroom, living room, kitchen.

 

[Eddy Edson]

Well Pete went for a test yesterday - positive. I'm supposed to isolate myself from him but oddly they don't explain how to do that! Not even like we can sleep in separate bedrooms in a one bedroom bungalow - hall, bedroom, living room, kitchen.

Oh - sorry to hear that, Jenny! Hope Pete recovers quickly, and look after yourself!

 

[rebrascora]

Goodness Jenny! Sorry to hear Pete has tested positive. Is he symptomatic or could it be a false positive?

In your circumstances I would guess you will just both have to self isolate together. Hope you both stay safe and well. Please keep us posted.

 

[Northerner]

Well Pete went for a test yesterday - positive. I'm supposed to isolate myself from him but oddly they don't explain how to do that! Not even like we can sleep in separate bedrooms in a one bedroom bungalow - hall, bedroom, living room, kitchen.

Very sorry to hear this Jenny I hope he recovers quickly, and that you are able to keep yourself as safe as possible, given your circumstances.

 

[trophywench]

Well I went and got a test today too, in case - but there again the only places either of us have been going to anyway outside this house has been for medical appointments. Oh and I had a text today to say I'd probably been close to someone who has tested positive LOL

Tomorrow he was going to arrange to have a blood test for his prostate cancer pdq as the clinic's due to ring him on Friday. So ... that won't happen. Well the blood test won't anyway. Spose he could ring and try to get them to do it next month, dunno how possible it is to rearrange such things that were arranged a year ago. Expect we'll find that out on Monday! LOL

 

[mikeyB]

Given the incubation period, any further distancing might well be a futile gesture. How and where did Pete catch it?

Anyway, it will be interesting if you don’t turn positive. There is some evidence appearing that it’s harder for women to get it.

 

[trophywench]

Where and how? well I reckon he breathed in some air that had virus particles in it either whilst putting the bin out or bringing it in or possibly whilst walking from the carpark at the rear of the GP surgery to the front door, or possibly in a similar manner doing much the same at the dentists; or who knows but that daughter no 2 brought it in the house with the shopping; or maybe when he went for his medical in Coventry to renew his driving licence? All with a mask on anyway. Last thing I did was go to the GP surgery over a week ago to have my blood tests ready for my GP (well, nurse) annual diabetes review next Friday - so if I am positive, I'll have to cancel that.

Pete does pick up anyone else's chest infections during the winter, but admittedly in previous years this has normally been when we've been in 'normal' proximity to other folk and indoors at that.