Looking forward to the ‘roadmap’

As we've managed to vaccinate so many in such a wonderfully short time, I bet it wouldn't be impossible to get all the teachers vaccinated in these two weeks before schools re-open.
As for the group 6 vulnerable, my daughter-in-law has CAH (adrenal hyperplasia) and was vaccinated last week. She is 43. My daughter who lives with her got a surprise call from the surgery the day before and was told she might as well come along too and have hers, so she did. She is only 40 (couple of health issues but nothing terrible) I reckon it depends where you live. They are in the depths of Cornwall so maybe if the practice has more than enough vaccine to cover their older patients, they can cover more groups more quickly. Like rosie1959 I'd love to see my diabetic grand-daughter vaccinated too but as she's only 12 she's probably still a way down the list.

Tere 53 : I really hope that your son will be able to go back to day care and respite care soon. I imagine that's very hard for you without a break and not good for him to have lost other interactions with people outside the home.
My son with learning disabilities is in a care home and we've not been able to see him since October so am looking forward to that changing. He has managed much better than we expected, not be able to do his normal activities, but we have really missed seeing him.

How I dislike these modern words for the ones that we are familiar with (roadmap - plan; footfall - customers; u-turn - rethink, etc).

I really hope this all goes smoothly and that people are sensible.

Franbern and Jillybird, I couldn’t agree more, why aren’t teachers being prioritised? It seems an absolute no brainer to help keep schools open.

Also, meant to say I signed an online petition today for this to happen.

It’s going to be a long time before children can be vaccinated. None of the vaccines are licensed for under 18s and a medical trial for children has only just begun

Aepgirl

How I dislike these modern words for the ones that we are familiar with (roadmap - plan; footfall - customers; u-turn - rethink, etc).

I really hope this all goes smoothly and that people are sensible.

I hate it too. I REALLY hate signposting, though I suppose signposting could be be incorporated into the drive around Britain, maybe some implementation of a traffic light system, some fines for parking in no parking areas during lockdown and if you go out on for exercise when it is raining and connect with someone outside of you own household, purchase tea instead of coffee, you go straight to jail and you do not pass go and do not collect £200.

I have two AC - one a teacher, the other a nurse - I am much more worried about the teacher at the moment ? The nurse has a fitted respirator mask, PPE and works in a well-ventilated space - the teacher will, from March 8th, be stuck in a room with 20 young adults, no-one wearing a mask - and windows that do not open. 'Luckily' (I quote) there's a fire door in the classroom which can be open all day...!
The teacher is 46, and so not expected to be vaccinated before July - the nurse is younger, had the first vaccination a month ago and is waiting for the second...
Go figure...

Paperbackwriter One of the vaccines (can't remember which one) is licensed for use in children under 18 in exceptional circumstances, where the risks from the condition outweigh any possible side effects. I guess it depends what her health is like apart from the diabetes.

Jillybird

Franbern

I am very much in support of getting out young people back into their schools. However, surely - one in order to aid this to be done without having to close them again is to vaccinate ALL staff who work in those establishments. Cannot understand how getting schools back keeps being talked about as Priority - yet no such priority is being given to all those adults in those places.

Exactly, Franbern! WHY are they not vaccinating teachers as a priority?
One teacher I know is terrified of going in and looking at the list of places where most infection is contracted I'm not surprised. She's on the vulnerable list so hopefully she will get her vaccination before she's required on the premises. Until then she's under threat of dismissal because she won't take her turn of going into school to monitor the "looked after" children and those who have parents in essential services. I really feel for her. It's an outrage that teachers should not be first in the next wave of vaccinations.

If she's on the latest list of vulnerable people, her job should be protected. That's what it was all about and why it's an improvement on the original list. She should also get her first dose of the vaccine before the first or second week of March.

Police Officers, firefighters, checkout operators, all as important as teachers, all at risk.

Growstuff
That is true, my 16 year old grandson had it last week.

growstuff

Paperbackwriter One of the vaccines (can't remember which one) is licensed for use in children under 18 in exceptional circumstances, where the risks from the condition outweigh any possible side effects. I guess it depends what her health is like apart from the diabetes.

I don’t think this is right. Neither vaccine can be licensed for under 16s because it has not been trialled on this age group. This is true of a lot of medicines given to very sick children - the legal/ethical position is that a drug can be used off label ie outside of its licence if the treating doctor believes it is in the child’s best interested and the risks outweigh the benefits .

SueDoku

I have two AC - one a teacher, the other a nurse - I am much more worried about the teacher at the moment ? The nurse has a fitted respirator mask, PPE and works in a well-ventilated space - the teacher will, from March 8th, be stuck in a room with 20 young adults, no-one wearing a mask - and windows that do not open. 'Luckily' (I quote) there's a fire door in the classroom which can be open all day...!
The teacher is 46, and so not expected to be vaccinated before July - the nurse is younger, had the first vaccination a month ago and is waiting for the second...
Go figure...

The government's attitude to schools has been abysmal. If I read one more negative comment about teachers on social media or in the press, I think I'll scream.

This latest announcement is ridiculous. The government has completely ignored nine unions and all the advice. At the very least, more effort could have been made to improve ventilation (making sure classrooms have opening windows) and ensure that schools are able enforce mask wearing. Better still, the return to school could have been staggered.

suziewoozie

growstuff

Paperbackwriter One of the vaccines (can't remember which one) is licensed for use in children under 18 in exceptional circumstances, where the risks from the condition outweigh any possible side effects. I guess it depends what her health is like apart from the diabetes.

I don’t think this is right. Neither vaccine can be licensed for under 16s because it has not been trialled on this age group. This is true of a lot of medicines given to very sick children - the legal/ethical position is that a drug can be used off label ie outside of its licence if the treating doctor believes it is in the child’s best interested and the risks outweigh the benefits .

I'll find the JCVI advice, where it's mentioned. I think the situation would be exceptional. I doubt if just having T1 diabetes is exceptional enough, but I'll see if I can find the link.

PS. It would be the same as "off label" use, I guess.

Children less than 16 years of age

Following infection, almost all children will have asymptomatic infection or mild disease. There is very limited data on vaccination in adolescents, with no data on vaccination in younger children, at this time. The committee advises that only those children at very high risk of exposure and serious outcomes, such as older children with severe neuro-disabilities that require residential care, should be offered vaccination with either the Pfizer-BioNTech or the AstraZeneca vaccine. Clinicians should discuss the risks and benefits of vaccination with a person with parental responsibility, who should be told about the paucity of safety data for the vaccine in children aged under 16 years. More detail on vaccination in children is set out in the Green Book – Immunisation Against Infectious Disease.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/priority-groups-for-coronavirus-covid-19-vaccination-advice-from-the-jcvi-30-december-2020/joint-committee-on-vaccination-and-immunisation-advice-on-priority-groups-for-covid-19-vaccination-30-december-2020

growstuff

PS. It would be the same as "off label" use, I guess.

I’m not being pedantic but these terms really matter - it’s also worth remembering that neither vaccine has a licence yet in the UK does it? Haven't they both only got emergency authorisation? There are important liability issues that flow from all these different ‘statuses’.

Did you read what the JVCI has written?

Ooops JCVI

Even though vaccination is ongoing well there has to be a period of assessment to establish if it is the lockdown or the vaccine responsible for any reduction. Scotland seems to be saying the vaccine is helping reduce the numbers. How can that be when it's people in care homes, over 80s then 70s all who probably haven't been out and about since Christmas. Would say the lockdown has had more effect. Hope the rest of the UK don't adopt this theory, we'll be back to square one in no time. Each stage of any road map has to be given time to be assessed to show how safe it is or not.

Agreed too early for schools to return and it’s only a few weeks until they will be closed for Easter. What’s the point?

growstuff

Did you read what the JVCI has written?

Yes - the JCVI are nothing at all to do with licensing and their wording makes it clear the onus is on the individual clinician. When a doctor prescribes a licensed drug as long as a/he follows the terms of the licence, s/he has nothing more to prove in terms of appropriate clinical conduct. However with a drug used off label they would have to prove much more .

“How I dislike these modern words for the ones that we are familiar with (roadmap - plan; footfall - customers; u-turn - rethink, etc).”

Aepgirl I fully agree about all the changes of words at the moment. I was reading a Lidl leaflet/website recently and one flavour of yoghurt stated “other Variants available”. It quite put me off buying it. Also, why do people have to grow their businesses? Why can’t they improve or increase them?

I just want an end to social distancing and masks when we are all vaccinated. Social distancing should NEVER be the new normal like they are trying to say. Had my vaccination last month and the nurse said things will never be the same again and that social distancing is here to stay. That's what I want a return back to normal. What was the point of the vaccine if there is no return to normal.