Bureaucratic nonsense

You might be happy to be treated as an unquestioning peasant, but I'm not.

How rude. But not unexpected.

MayBee70

A friend of mine spent ages on the phone booking his booster. But when he then asked for his wife to have hers (they were both due at the same time) she has to have hers a week later. Which is a nuisance as she doesn’t drive. Am I right in thinking that the Pfizer vaccine no longer has to be kept at sub zero temperatures? I’m sure I read ages ago that it was now easier to transport.

Maybee70 It's difficult to find the real info for the UK on this. The US has certainly ruled it can be held at higher temps. There are articles saying Europe hasn't ruled yet. I've had problems trying to discover the UK position.

You might be happy to be treated as an unquestioning peasant, but I’m not.

Haha, would you rather I was an entitled aristocrat?

I posted earlier about this. Yes, there has been a glitch in the system - my GP sent a text asking me to book this Tuesday as there had been a problem with the IT system but it still won't let me book!

I thought the whole point of having a written 'debate' on Gransnet was to... debate. In other words, people will obviously hold differing opinions and should - within reason - be free to state their point of view.

However, some comments are offensive. This is one in point:
You might be happy to be treated as an unquestioning peasant, but I'm not.

Completely unnecessary.

Maybe strong, but it was in response to an equally offensive comment.

I sympathise Lucky Gjrl. The govt is anxious that we should have boosters. Ringing the NHS can be a total waste of time. It is NOT a first world problem for people with serious disease who qualify. I am one of those people but my specific problem is not general because as I was stuck overseas with no flights
my jabs of AZ were given there so NHS did not have any record.I tried eConsult with the GP which yielded nothing, so I went on Next Door which gave me 82 replies. One was from a woman who did the jabbing close by to me. She told me to come and as I cannot stand for long she gave me her phone number and will come and get me so I can get the vaccine. You might not subscribe to the old saying “God helps those who help themselves” but I do and try to work out my own solutions. It saves the NHS time and mine too. My part of London has a lot of resourceful people because many surgeries do not respond to requests.

The whole process of setting up Covid vaccination centres is far more complex than one might imagine. Even having the vaccine reach a centre on a particular day and time is difficult and challenging.

Covid centres have been run with the help of volunteers. Has anyone carping on this thread even thought of offering help?

These volunteers are now tired and jaded and there is difficulty in having enough people available to help.

I will say one last time, we have done a brilliant job in having vaccines reach so many of our population: there just has to be 'rules and protocols' in place as the system could not run without them.

Oh, to the person who couldn't have their vaccine on a Saturday morning as they worked: could you not have your vaccine at the beginning, end or lunchtime that day? Yes, you would miss an hour or so of work (at most) but you would have on board a life-saving vaccine. Is that worth the inconvenience of possibly losing an hour's pay? Although, I would be very surprised if an employer would not cover your pay for that reason.

We are in the middle of a pandemic but we live in a wealthy country whose NHS staff and volunteers are doing their very best. It won't be a perfect system and some people are bound to fall through gaps, which is unfortunate but... we have to take some responsibility for our own health and well-being and if there is a system set up we have to follow those rules. It helps the system run well.

I trust the original poster has now been able to have her vaccine....?

Was sent a letter re my booster.
Went on line and was offered a choice of places and times.
Chose two days later.

OH is slightly younger, almost 3 years from jabs. Went on line and again offer of places and times.
Chose two days time.
All done in 30 minutes.
And this in a city which is reported to have problems with Covid

I have had my booster - this afternoon.

My concern about the chaotic nature of the system that achieves this is one shared by those working in it. They have been very open about that. It makes their job far more difficult that it need be.

The first two vaccines had a much clearer system which worked reasonably well.

Just because someone raises a concern (not "carping - raising a concern) about this does not mean that they do not hugely appreciate the privilege of having that vaccine; but it does mean that they are concerned that the failings in the booster bookings could lead to fewer people being protected, to the detriment of us all.

We both got our texts on Wednesday, 6 calendar months and 3 days after our second jabs. I clicked on the national (England only perhaps?) booking site yesterday and had a choice of 12 hubs within a 6 mile radius, with appointments free from tomorrow until 28 November. Chose the most convenient date and venue for us and booked. It took about ten minutes in all.

Good to hear that the system worked for you.

And I’m glad it worked for you too.

In the end!!

Interestingly, when I got to the vaccination centre and was booking in, there was a heated discussion going on between a couple of people and one of the organisers regarding how hard it had been to get an appointment.

Maybe it is better in other areas of the country.

Actually Candelle many of us do appreciate how difficult it is to organise the vaccinations. I, for one, am awestruck at how well the initial programme went, which is precisely why I'm puzzled that it doesn't appear to be going so well this time. The systems are already in place, any bureaucratic problems have presumably been ironed out, so it does seem strange. I'm hugely appreciative of the volunteers and the medics who have worked "over time". The problems seem more to do with communication and maybe some software issues. The OP was about booking in advance, not queue jumping. It was possible to book in advance six months ago, so I don't understand why it can't be done now.

I work in a vaccination centre. We do walk-ins and use 182 days as the eligibility point rather than the imprecise ‘months’.

Incidentally Candelle I'm the person who couldn't have my vaccine on a Saturday morning. No, I couldn't have my vaccine at the beginning, middle or end of the session. I'm self-employed and work most of the day. I lose money if I don't work and, as I'm already living on the breadline, it's a significant loss of money. I don't have an employer! And I find your "advice" extremely patronising.

My local walk-in centre is closed at lunch-time (I don't take a lunch break anyway). The site itself warns people that there will be last minute changes in opening times, closures if they run out and advises people that there could be long queues and to take something to eat and drink and keep warm. It's not just a question of taking an hour off work. There will be many other people in the same situation and/or have to arrange public transport or lifts. I would have to cancel a whole day's work to be sure that I would have enough time.

Interestingly, the site has now been updated to give more information and advises people to use the national booking system when it's been 182 since their last dose. That's what I'll do, but the information only appeared yesterday, when the date stamp on the website says it was updated.

I become eligible to book next week and I'm happy with that, but the information wasn't available when I posted.

PS. I always take a great deal of responsibility for my own health, which is probably just as well in the current circumstances.

FoghornLeghorn

I work in a vaccination centre. We do walk-ins and use 182 days as the eligibility point rather than the imprecise ‘months’.

Yes, that's what my current site says - 182 days. However, that information only appeared yesterday.

PS. I'm very grateful for all you've done/are doing. It seems to be a problem with communication.

growstuff

FoghornLeghorn

I work in a vaccination centre. We do walk-ins and use 182 days as the eligibility point rather than the imprecise ‘months’.

Yes, that's what my current site says - 182 days. However, that information only appeared yesterday.

PS. I'm very grateful for all you've done/are doing. It seems to be a problem with communication.

That’s interesting Growstuff. It bothers me that there is apparent inconsistency between centres as we have been operating our 182 days policy since we started boosters some weeks ago.

We do feel that our patients appreciate us as they frequently tell us so and our staff room is adorned with thank you cards as well as a regular supply of doughnuts, cupcakes and chocolates.

Most of the jabs we are giving are boosters with a smaller number of first and second doses, these mainly for young adults who I suspect are worried that their liberty may be curtailed if not fully vaccinated. We started vaccinating 12 to 15 year olds last week which has added to our workload.

But we are happy to be busy as it means that large numbers of people are coming forward to protect themselves and others.

No walk-ins round here!

The last I was told it was 190 days, and the centre staff were fed up about that change - has it changed again to 182?

To growstuff: I understand that you are self-employed which, to my mind means that you have even more scope to dictate your working hours.

Personally, I would value a booster dose of vaccine that could save my life above working for an hour - or even two. I really can't imagine that you would be longer than this. In all our experiences with vaccinations we have been in and out well within half an hour.

Obviously no one wants to lose income but surely your hours could be amended on one particular day so you could attend the centre to have your vaccination? I would have thought that it would be possible to add hours later in the day to make up any lost income. This is an individual choice and of course, we all think differently.

Alternatively, have you considered contacting the National Vaccination Centre? They could help you find a different vaccination centre that was open on a day which would suit you better so your problem would not apply.

Of course I did not want to appear patronising and I don't give advice, only suggestions which could be of benefit to others.

I really don't want to enter tit-for-tat comments, so this will be my last on this topic.

No Candelle I have almost no "scope" to arrange my working hours. I'm a tutor and most of my pupils are school age children, who only have time on Saturdays. I also work most evenings, so it's difficult to rearrange lessons, although I would try to do just that, if I had an advance date for vaccination. Please stop trying to tell me how to arrange my life, when you really don't know what you're talking about. I've told the truth and that's that!

Of course I value my life and I'm an ardent supporter of vaccines. However, even my local site warns people that there might be queues and tells them to take something to eat and drink. That would imply that it could take longer than an hour or two. Incidentally, I don't work for minimum wage, so two hour's work is a significant share of my income, which I can't afford to lose. Please butt out! I'm not going to give any more details of my finances or work arrangements.

"Obviously no one wants to lose income but surely your hours could be amended on one particular day so you could attend the centre to have your vaccination? I would have thought that it would be possible to add hours later in the day to make up any lost income. This is an individual choice and of course, we all think differently."

You really don't know anything about my work.