The best vaccine news we could hope for

Elegran wins Post of the Day and its only 10am

I agree we have to start somewhere, but we should be going into it with our eyes open, and cautiously, is all I’m saying. There are no guarantees. If it was a case of everyone is at risk, then any vaccine would be the better option, and take the risk. We started this whole thing off with the knowledge that most people, four out of five, wouldn’t catch it. Of the one in five who do...most survived. In fact, I think it was these statements in the early days which led to complacency. I understand the government not wanting to alarm people, but I think it had the opposite effect. I’m not a scientist ( I leave that to my husband). These are just my opinions.

Priorities for who will get the vaccines first haven't changed since at least the 25th September. JCVI say it may change between now and roll-out depending on the characteristics of the approved vaccine

www.gov.uk/government/publications/priority-groups-for-coronavirus-covid-19-vaccination-advice-from-the-jcvi-25-september-2020/jcvi-updated-interim-advice-on-priority-groups-for-covid-19-vaccination

Elegran !! ?
It is rather worrying, though, when posters suddenly disappear.

Some people do have reactions to the other agents in vaccines eg albumin, aluminium, gelatine but that is extremely rare.

Exactly Blinko, Petra and Elegran?.

Good post elegran

The vaccine is made out of a portion of the RNA, plus the usual bulking substances and a preservative. I would imagine that the most likely bad effect might be something like the effects of catching the whole virus itself naturally. If that happens, it will have been observed in the trials so far. If someone has a sensitivity to the preservative, that would probably already be obvious from their reaction to other vaccinations.

But there's no need for the under-80's to worry. Unless you are in the first wave, there will be people going "over the top" in front of you. Keep reading Gransnet to check whether the oldest posters are still commenting. If the canaries in the coal-mine aren't still singing when it is your turn, you can make your excuses and escape.

Toadinthehole

How do you know the risks are ‘ minor’ alegrias? Even the doctors don’t know that yet.

Toadinthehole, I don't claim to know that that the risks associated with the Pfizer vaccine are minor because the safety data for the Pfizer vaccine haven't been released yet. So we'll wait for that.

But, for any vaccine that is approved by the JCVI, the risks will be minor compared to the risks we face from COVID, or what would be the point of them approving it for use?

Suzie what I mean is (without going into details which I don’t know) the Oxford vaccine is produced in a similar way to the flu one while the Pfizer one is a totally new concept. Some people maybe sceptical of the latter. Anyway fingers crossed!

How do you know the risks are ‘ minor’ alegrias? Even the doctors don’t know that yet.

GPs will have to reduce services
I don't think mine could reduce his services any more. Unless you count talking on the phone as a service
He has managed 2 trips to Portugal, though.

BlueSky

By that little I know I think perhaps the Oxford vaccine could be more acceptable to the public as it’s a more ‘tried and tested’ sort.

It really isn’t - it’s going through exactly the same stages but just behind in time a little.

^ I'm hoping the government can organise what appears to be a complex and logistical nightmare efficiently. ^

Test, track and trace, anyone?

After Dr Tamms cautious advice there seems to have been an explosion in the News and stories ranging from the vaccine wont be available until next year to they are rolling it out at the beginning of December. It did seem initially that it would first be given to frontline NHS workers which made sense. It now seems it will be administered first to care home workers and residents. In some ways this makes sense,they have suffered the most deaths and are currently living in almost prison like isolation.
Of course it would be wonderful to think that after their dreadful treatment of this group the government are doing their best to make amends. Best of all they could be reunited with their families for Christmas. Good PR.
It would also be easier to administer as all in one place.
I'm trying to think positively, I really am. I'm hoping care homes wont be a mini experiment. I'm hoping the government can organise what appears to be a complex and logistical nightmare efficiently. It is concerning that GPs will have to reduce services to administer it. Time will tell. Fingers crossed.

By that little I know I think perhaps the Oxford vaccine could be more acceptable to the public as it’s a more ‘tried and tested’ sort.

I think that NHS and all other key workers should be offered the vaccine first.
As another poster pointed out, the old, the vulnerable, those not working can, if necessary, stay at home.
It may not be desirable but it is not essential for those groups to go out and mingle with others.

The Oxford vaccine may well be available soon afterwards and those not in the first round could be vaccinated not that much later.

I think they should vaccinate swathes of people together.
Whole families, their work colleagues, and anyone who comes into contact with them.

Would it make sense to vaccinate those that appear to be spreading it first so the young?
Yes Whitewave

But perhaps try it out on the old and vulnerable first and if they can tolerate it then it should be fine for everyone else!

If not - well, we're old and possibly vulnerable anyway.

I am a bit concerned about the logistics, there will be 1250 hubs, giving out around 975 vaccines a week each. Each person will need two vaccines, so only reaching 600K people a week. That is going to take a long time to get through even the first half of the chosen groups.

Already we are being told to expect that GP services will have to be cut back to find the time to deliver these vaccines. This is not going to be an easy ride.

Years ago I knew someone who was working on a scientific project in London. She was going into work 7 days a week. She eventually moved to Germany because the work was better paid and more appreciated. The last I heard of her she’d married a millionaire. My ex is an engineer and he always bemoaned the fact that engineers are on a par with doctors in other countries but here they’re regarded as below them.

Summerlove

*Summerlove can you point out where I said that people should take the vaccine if they don't want to? No, I didn't think so.*

Your tone and disdain for those of us who aren’t ready to jump in head first is clear. Your lack of understanding on our reasons, calling them baseless and implying if not outright stating they are uneducated are enough.

Ah, what can I say that won't sound bad? Nothing, I think. I don't assume you are uneducated, I don't know anything about you other than what you put on Gransnet.

I know that the risks that we are facing with COVID are huge in comparison to any minor risks that a vaccine might present, and we'll all make our own decisions about how we face that.

MayBee70

From watching the BBC programme about pandemics I got the impression that scientists have been working on a vaccine for corona viruses for a long time so it isn’t as if they were starting from scratch. And we only have to see how many things were developed very quickly during the two world wars to realise that people can achieve amazing things when they really focus on something and unlimited funds are available. I read yesterday that when Kennedy decided to send a man to the moon there was another plan to provide clean drinking water for everyone on the planet. Unfortunately the latter never took off. It was in a Caitlin Moran article bemoaning the fact that we’re trying to find other planets to inhabit because we’re destroying the one we live on.

I have a friend who is a professor of microbiology, who was already working on a virus with (as he called it) the same kind of sticky coating as Coronaviruses. I know he has contributed to the Oxford research. Most of what he says goes way over my head, but I think you're right. As soon as his lab received the all clear on funding from the government, they recruited extra people and switched research to Covid-19. There has been a massive amount of investment, which is never really made public, and a huge global collaborative effort. I saw that my friend had congratulated the BioNTech team on his Twitter account, so I'm reassured that the progress is genuine.

Yes, as ridiculous at it sounds, time is the only thing, and as yet, it's too early days.

Saying that, I work with vulnerable people, so I'm fully expecting to have to have it done.
(I will, but feel very uneasy about any longer term effects)

We still don’t know what ongoing problems the virus will cause: heart disease etc. But don’t worry: those of us having the vaccine will be guinea pigs for everyone else.

Summerlove can you point out where I said that people should take the vaccine if they don't want to? No, I didn't think so.

Your tone and disdain for those of us who aren’t ready to jump in head first is clear. Your lack of understanding on our reasons, calling them baseless and implying if not outright stating they are uneducated are enough.