SaintHacker
Journeyman Pro
Both jabs booked! It appears it works better if you log in with your nhs number. If you dont know it you can request it through the nhs website
Coronavirus - how is it/has it affected you?
- Thread starter drdel
- Start date
Slime
Tour Winner
Has the UK actually over-ordered?
D-S
Well-known member
Ridgeman
Member
Yes and indeed no. The UK has orderred 400 million vaccinations. Even say at 65 million x 2 its way over. However they were ordered before we knew they would all work or not. If a couple of them hadn't worked in particular the AZ then we situation would be of under ordering. Better safe than sorry. We should be in a position to let others have our over ordering amounts.
Ridgeman
Member
On works in certain parts of the UK.
Mudball
Assistant Pro
Got my dates..
@Ethan .. my wife is an NHS key worker. She got her Pfizer back in Feb in Hampshire (near where she works). But no news on 2nd one. Our (Surrey based) GP has escalated but no cigar. Now 14 weeks but no idea what to do. She called Guildford hospital but they said they can do first one but not set up to give her second dose. I can understand it but Bonkers ..
Any idea on how to deal with this?
@Ethan .. my wife is an NHS key worker. She got her Pfizer back in Feb in Hampshire (near where she works). But no news on 2nd one. Our (Surrey based) GP has escalated but no cigar. Now 14 weeks but no idea what to do. She called Guildford hospital but they said they can do first one but not set up to give her second dose. I can understand it but Bonkers ..
Any idea on how to deal with this?
Slab
Occasional Tour Caddy
As Ridgeman says 400 million. So enough to double dose every adult 4 times over. I've no proof that represents over-ordering but it appears to be
Beezerk
Money List Winner
Spikes of the South African variant in London I heard earlier, hope they can quash it ?
SaintHacker
Journeyman Pro
Yeah. Kept kicking me out until I went tried using my NHS number, then it went straight through. Have to travel a bit for the first one (down to Christchurch) but I went ofor the soonest rather than the nearest so no problem with that. 2nd one is just up the road.
Piece
Tour Winner
Wife, who is 50, wasn't called up by normal methods. NHS site said recently that she was "ineligible". After calls and comms to 119, GP, Drs, no-one knows why she can't book. Then this morning, opens up to 45+ and lo and behold she can book. Took a bit of time to get through, but all sorted, including the second jab.
williamalex1
Money List Winner
I had the Oxford vaccination 8 weeks ago with no side effects.
But I'm a little concerned after having blood samples taken yesterday.
The nurse filled the 1st phial no problem but the blood flow stopped halfway filling the 2nd phial.
She had to go to my right arm to fill the 2nd phial.
I've had blood taken lots of times this has never happened before.
BTW, I know the old Tony Hancock joke, that's nearly an armful.
But I'm a little concerned after having blood samples taken yesterday.
The nurse filled the 1st phial no problem but the blood flow stopped halfway filling the 2nd phial.
She had to go to my right arm to fill the 2nd phial.
I've had blood taken lots of times this has never happened before.
BTW, I know the old Tony Hancock joke, that's nearly an armful.
Mudball
Assistant Pro
Sod’s law.. 2 hrs after posting here, got a call from GP surgery to get a booking.
They were covering bases. Apparently we have already shipped some to Australia, they were struggling to get some thanks to our friends across the water, and we will pass out any extra once UK citizens have been jabbed. The core of any govt is to protect their own people, you can't blame them for this.
I don't expect us to sit on vaccines once we have reached the critical point. I think the UK is pretty good on this front, I would expect us to do our part.
Slab
Occasional Tour Caddy
Yeah absolutely (I even said that exact same thing in my post) I was just saying that vaccines are in short supply here (and other countries) so no sign of me getting jagged anytime soon, & I don't see it improving much, especially if countries have excess on order
I doubt anyone's sitting on any surplus anyway but globally it probably needs to be tackled concurrently, so plenty countries with over-orders on the books will have to start to cancel some of these
There is a WHO scheme set up for countries to pile excess into that will then be distributed. It just wont happen on any scale yet. I doubt countries will cancel orders, gut feeling. I think they would rather have the excess and distribute it out than cancel the orders. Keeping the orders open allows for any variations that need a tweaked vaccine this winter.
On the bright side for you, you may not have a vaccine but your island seems to be pretty covid free and you have been able to play golf, go to bars, send annoyingly attractive pictures of blue sea and beaches, whilst we have been living like miserable hermits. The vaccine is the next step though, I hope it reaches you soon
Ethan
Money List Winner
It isn't 14 weeks since Feb, though.
I think she is probably a victim of the shortages and reshuffling of some AZ vaccine. The GP should be able to sort something out, even if it is a 'turn up at the end of the day' solution. And it might be pretty short notice. If she doesn't hear soon, though, she should ask Occupational Health at her NHS employer.
In terms of the risk to her, I wouldn't worry. The 12 weeks is arbitrary, and it is likely that a second dose, if one is even needed, at 4 or 6 months would be just as effective. In the meantime she is pretty well covered by Pfizer which appears to be the most effective first shot.
I have had one Pfizer too, in the middle of Feb, and waiting to hear about the next one. If push came to shove, I would be happy to take a Moderna as my second shot. It is basically the same idea as Pfizer, but in a slightly different vehicle.
Ethan
Money List Winner
Oh, OK, good for her.
Wabinez
Journeyman Pro
Positive update from Sturgeon for the Scots, and, more importantly, looks to pretty much green light my postponed trip to play The Old Course next month.
Great news
Great news
Ethan
Money List Winner
It was right to order way more because at the start, it was expected that some of the vaccine clinical programs would fail. So far only the GSK/Sanofi one has failed and Merck withdrew one, probably after seeing several others complete successfully. Also, the staging in time of product release and production delays which are common with biological products were all risk factors.
I previously expressed the view that I thought the UK order book was too heavily weighted in favour of UK production, especiaily AZ, because AZ was not an experienced vaccine developer, did not have tried and tested production capability and the viral vectors are inherently more risky in terms of production failure. I thought the UK order book should have given greater weight to Pfizer because they are a highly experienced vaccine maker, mRNAs are easier and faster to make than viral vectors, they have lots of scalable and flexible production and were looking like one of the first to land. But they don't make in the UK.
It looks a lot like the booster contracts are going to Novavax (good vaccine, it seems) and Valneva (no idea, no phase III data yet). Both of these are made in the UK, both in areas where the (some political comments self-redacted) seats.
Also, the acquisition cost (price) of these vaccines is, in the grand scheme of things, irrelevant. It is a drop in the ocean compared to other Covid costs and great value at almost any price. The £37bn cost of the (political comment) Test and Trace would pay for over 2 billion Pfizer vaccines at the UK or EU contract price, and you might get a few more thrown in at that volume, or indeed would buy 25% of Pfizer shares.
Slab
Occasional Tour Caddy
There is a WHO scheme set up for countries to pile excess into that will then be distributed. It just wont happen on any scale yet. I doubt countries will cancel orders, gut feeling. I think they would rather have the excess and distribute it out than cancel the orders. Keeping the orders open allows for any variations that need a tweaked vaccine this winter.
On the bright side for you, you may not have a vaccine but your island seems to be pretty covid free and you have been able to play golf, go to bars, send annoyingly attractive pictures of blue sea and beaches, whilst we have been living like miserable hermits. The vaccine is the next step though, I hope it reaches you soon
It was all looking so good too... Unfortunately we got a new patient zero that flew in and 'missed' the quarantine, so we have another lockdown (2nd) and our first covid related deaths in almost a year!
All that good work undone and now there's folk getting ill again