Joan Bakewell vaccine legal challenge

Callistemon

The message does need to be made clearer in the media, PippaZ.

There does seem to be a lot of confusion in general about the vaccines.

I agree Callistemon but it's not just confusion, people are very concerned, sadly. We really need everything to be as clear as clear.

While out walking the streets last week, I happened to meet a friend who is a retired consultant medical microbiologist & had a socially distanced chat across the road.
I asked him this very question & he said it wouldn’t worry him in the slightest having a 12-week gap between doses.

If Joan Bakewell’s legal action results in a delay to the vaccination programme I shall be beyond angry.

Me too, janeainsworth

Thanks Jane this should be reassuring even though I have no problems with the longer gap.

Professor Whitty himself suggested the spacing of doses was not ideal, but said the number of vaccine doses available to the UK "constrains" what action can be taken.

In a stark message against a backdrop of rising hospital admissions and deaths, he said: "If we had an infinite amount of vaccine we might have taken a different approach - but we don't."

None of the vaccines offer 100% protection and the fact that having one dose prevents people having a serious infection and needing hospitalisation should be better than some people having less chance of being infected and other people dying. We do not need anything to hold up the vaccination programme given the huge rise in positive cases and deaths.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Getting vaccines deployed as rapidly as possible to as many at risk older and clinically vulnerable people, as well as frontline health and social care workers, is our number one priority. “The decision by the MHRA to change vaccine dosage intervals followed a thorough review of the data and was in line with the recommendations of the UK’s four chief medical officers. “The Government is closely following the guidance of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) which recommended we prioritise first doses of vaccine for as many people as possible initially.”

This is the Department of Health’s response, as reported in the Daily Telegraph.
JB has applied for leave for a Judicial Review. That has to be granted before the Review can take place, so it may well not be granted on the grounds that the JCVI could reasonably be expected to know more about the subject than m’learned friends.

On the One Show this evening was a scientist -didn't catch her name.She answered a variety of questions on the vaccination.Very clearly and I had every confidence listening to her.She stressed it is the Regulators decision for the gap between doses,not the Governments and that it was based on evolving scientific evidence.All available in the public domain,That will do for me.I'm not an experienced scientist.Neither is Dame JB.

Excellent discussion about the efficacy of one dose right now on More or Less on Radio 4. Includes why the 12-week interval is a good idea.

I totally agree that the time lapse in giving the second dose to the pensioners who had the first dose was wrong. The contract between them and N.H.S was one dose and booked appointments for 3 weeks later for second dose. The clinical trials were based on that also. To then cancel all appointments for the second dose by the Government as they apparently know best is not good policy. Does it matter? Yes it does and look how patients are being discharged back into care homes again, I watched a program on it last night and the male nurse working in the care home was in tears as he had two covid patients and they were not going to survive he said it was worse than the last wave.

Was their any 'contract' between older people and the NHS, not that I am \aware of.

One jab will give protection to 90% of those receiving it, whether they have a second jab or not, all the second jab does is increase the coverage to 95%. Surely better 2 million people get one jab than 1 million get 2. I will be quite happy to await the second jab (once they get round to giving me the first jab).

I had the Asian 'flu one 2 weeks after the first dose. I was 17/18 at the time and working at the hospital where it was killing younger people.
They obviously knew more in the 50's !

I imagine a 3 week gap between vaccines was trialled because time is short. There will not have been time to compare say 2nd dose at 3 months and 6 months. The gap is a fairly arbitrarily chosen figure

I think your post should be in upper case and bold, mumofmadboys!

We aren't hearing so much talk about 'following the science' are we? And seemingly fine for the Govt to 'flex' the rules when it suits them but not for anyone else...

Of course people are afraid that after 12 weeks there will still not be enough vaccine and the second jabs will never materialise and then we will be back to the beginning again. It's not just the degree of protection but also the duration surely?

Since it's the Pfizer vaccine that has only been validated for 3 weeks they could perhaps stick to 3-4 weeks for the Pfizer with 12 weeks for the Oxford, which most people will be having anyway.

Alegrias1

Excellent discussion about the efficacy of one dose right now on More or Less on Radio 4. Includes why the 12-week interval is a good idea.

Such a good Radio programme. “How to Vaccinate the World” was really informative.

3Nanny it's not the government that has changed the advice on the second dosage but the Regulator as the Oxford scientist on the One Show last night explained.

If the Government is confident that we it is safe for us to wait for the second jab, how come Stanley Johnson (Boris Snr) has receive both of his already? Surely not nepotism!

I listened to a BBC 'senior correspondent' this morning talk in a very biased way about something that I know a bit about (including what I know is a lie). I don't think he knew it was a lie, it was just superficial journalism. I will never believe anything I see/hear on TV/radio again.

I would love to know what the lie was Chardy.

I complained to the BBC a few years ago because I heard a blatant lie from one of their senior correspondents. I know it was a lie because I was watching a speech live and the report said something entirely different to what the speaker said. The response from the BBC was that the reporter was just doing his job.

Anniezee the majority of people local to me, who had their first jab before Christmas, have had their second, maybe because they were given that second date at the first.

I think the nonsense some are propogating on here that it is a government decision should be put to bed once and for all.

They are following the guidance of the experts, Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Nobody can be critical of the government in this case (or any government) for following the scientific advice from the people who are more likely to know what they are talking about.

Chardy The logic of what you said means that you do not accept the riots at The Capitol in Washington took place, last week or that COVID exists, although you are not alone there. You do not believe earthquakes occur when they do or, that the food parcels sent to children were inadequate, not that Marcus Rashford (who's he?) is speaking up for them

Sorry M0nica, perhaps a 'solely' or 'only' preceding 'on TV/radio' would have made my sentiment crystal clear. But I expect you knew what I meant.

Chardy should be my apology, somehow people making sweeping statements always get me somewhere that hurts and I respond before I think.