NHS could vaccinate UK against Covid in five days, says Oxford professor

Supply is the biggest problem though?

Yes, I know. BUT... could be better than it currently is. Another article I have just posted said that the first of the 2 vaccine doses is lowering the spread of the virus already (in the care homes that have had it) so it DOES have a swift effect.

If we could get the vaccinations done quicker it could help this lower the spread of the new strain.

I agree supply is one of the biggest problems And the Pfizer vaccine has its own problems
Hopefully things will get moving with the Oxford vaccine
They really have to get a move on vaccinating 24/7 They are also quite rightly vaccinating the oldest groups first which to my mind will be slower
All I need is a text to be at place at a time and I will be there wherever it is not so easy with the elderly
No need for all this please take a seat take off cardigans ect let’s have lines of people with their sleeves rolled up ready to go

My understanding is that most of the vaccination centres are waiting on supply on a weekly basis, and are geared up to do do more than they are able - and that GP surgeries are not getting it as quickly as they have requested either. Hopefully the situation will improve in the next few weeks.

I wil be there, wherever, whenever. Can't remember ever watching for the postie so keenly since I was a child with a birthday.

I feel very strongly that there is an underlying narrative somewhere in the press to make people think we are being slow off the mark with vaccination. I don't know why, maybe to generate clicks or sell newspapers. I know that the Government's performance in this pandemic has been woeful, but to be fair to them they have 157 million doses of the approved vaccines on order. We are still number 5 in the world for the number of vaccinations delivered per head of population. Number 5 is really good.

To say it could be better than it currently is, well yes, of course. But we can't just magic up all the doses at once and start jabbing willy-nilly, it needs proper organisation and oversight. I'd love us to be able to vaccinate everyone at twice the speed, but some things are just not going to happen, because they are not possible.

Take Israel, which his being held up as an example. Tiny country, so its easier to get the vaccine to every person. In the US, lawmakers are getting priority, regardless of age or vulnerability.

Its too easy to pick fault. We're doing OK.

Kim19

I wil be there, wherever, whenever. Can't remember ever watching for the postie so keenly since I was a child with a birthday.

Sending letters out does seem a slow and time consuming way I received my flu call up by txt

All I need is a text to be at place at a time and I will be there I am with you on this Rosie. Day or night.

wherever it is not so easy with the elderly, but it is with the elderly in care homes. They are not going anywhere. They know how many residents. 'Silver Hills in Cheshire' (for example). 62 residents = 62 doses. 4 staff on duty. One on call, one going room to room administering injections. Could be done in a day? (I am not a carer, I could be wrong!)

GagaJo I would think 62 could be done very quickly if they are all in one place certainly in under a couple of hoursb

I'm not sure comments such as this one from Bell are at all helpful. I agree with him that it should be much easier for volunteers to be accredited to give vaccines, especially trained professionals such as retired doctors, nurses, dentists etc He knows as well as anyone that supply of the vaccine will be the most limiting factor. Or are we saying let's hog supplies, get all our population vaccinated and go hang the poorer countries of the world? He more than most should realise this pandemic isn't over for anyone until it's over for everyone.

I certainly would not be turning up for my vaccine at 3 am one morning. I live on my own and I do not travel in dusk and dark although I am in a vulnerable group.

What an odd thing for him to say. Obviously, we can get it out quicker if we have it. We don't and what we do have is going out quickly as far as I can see with sensible use of the difficult one. I will tell you all the things I don't think this Tory Government has done well, including the current lockdown but so far, so good with the vaccinations, in my opinion.

Did you see the list of things you have to do to volunteer to help the inoculation programme? To impose it on people who are just sticking a needle in an arm is bonkers.”

As we don't need those people and it is a little more, in knowledge, than just sicking a needle in an arm, I wonder about this man's credibility.

Nah. I was intrigued so sat and did some Maths.

Taking one of the “hubs” that can vaccinate 4 a minute it would take that hub 225 days to vaccinate 65, 000, 000.

On average a vaccination takes 4 mins by the time the person walked in, sat down, site cleaned, vaccination, got up and exited. A bit longer for COVID because of infection precautions and the age (slowness) of many of the first. So say 5 mins.

You would need 50,000 vaccinators to do it in five days if each one of them worked nonstop. Of, they couldn’t do that. You would need a minimum of five per station if each works an 8hr shift with two others to cover breaks. That’s a quarter of a million vaccinators plus ancillary staff.

Did he mention where he would get a quarter of a million vaccinators from at the moment.

Also how he would get people to turn up at three in the morning to get their vaccination.

One of these clever people who have no idea how life works?

Still, thinking about the Maths and logistics gave me a happy half hour.

Peasblossom ?

Mine's on the 28th when I have my INR. So long as the nurse doesn't make a muck of it like she did with the 'flu one when I had blood running down my arm. Either I've got skin like a rhino or the needle was blunt. A bit of both probably.

Charleygirl5

I certainly would not be turning up for my vaccine at 3 am one morning. I live on my own and I do not travel in dusk and dark although I am in a vulnerable group.

24 hour administration would certainly speed the vaccination process up.

Anything that gets us out of this morass has to be good.

Retired doctors and nurses are having to go through a ridiculous administrative process, just to give injections. Give them a one day supporting role in a vaccination centre. Administer three or four sample (water) injections into an orange. Back into active service.

Thanks for your very interesting post Peasblossom.
I was really a fan of Prof John Bell until he made this remark which is critical, very unhelpful and also seems to be incorrec.

I got my flu jag in the community centre,there were stations set up around it and no seats.It was a a case of walk in to a free station hand over your paperwork and get jagged.We were told to have sleeves rolled up as we went in.It took two minutes at most .In one door and out another .The door was held open by a person wearin PPE .
I'm sure they could get through a lot in an hour if they used this system

That sounds fantastic paddyanne. I am very jealous you are vaccinated! I am gagging for my shot.

paddyanne

I got my flu jag in the community centre,there were stations set up around it and no seats.It was a a case of walk in to a free station hand over your paperwork and get jagged.We were told to have sleeves rolled up as we went in.It took two minutes at most .In one door and out another .The door was held open by a person wearin PPE .
I'm sure they could get through a lot in an hour if they used this system

With the Pfizer jab, the patient has to sit and wait for 15 mins afterwards before they are allowed to leave in case they have a reaction.

Apparently this does not apply to the Oxford A-Z vaccine, so it's a much quicker process.

My husband, 81, has been offered a jab at a Centre miles away because our local Doctors clinic has run out of vaccine. We don't know whether to travel 45 mins for his jab or wait for the local clinic to get stock. The gut instinct is to get it immediately, if at an inconvenient Centre that requires car travel or would it be more sensible to wait upon the local Doctor. Any advice?

I would make the drive Boz. The relief of knowing he has some protection alone would make it worthwhile.

GagaJo I am one of those people- I really could not be bothered going through that rigmarole. Firstly before I received the 21 pages, I had to send in my CV to see if I was suitable! Having retired in 2002 amazingly I no longer have a CV, up to date certificates etc. I am sure many more thought like me.

GagaJo

That sounds fantastic paddyanne. I am very jealous you are vaccinated! I am gagging for my shot.

Gagajo -saw what you did there! ??