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Doctors told to bin leftover vaccines instead of administering second doses.

(123 Posts)
GagaJo Sat 16-Jan-21 18:36:04

The revelation comes as hospitals become increasingly overwhelmed by the surge of COVID patients as the virus continues to spread across the UK.

GPs setting up vaccine clinics at short notice who find they have several injection doses left have reportedly been warned by local authorities that they cannot use them on staff or any patients who have already received their first jab.

Medics claim the policy, which has been described as “bordering on criminal”, is hampering the effort to vaccinate over-80s, along with frontline health and care workers.

The instructions are being reported across the country, according to The Telegraph.

Dr Robert Morely, director of professional support at the Birmingham Local Medical Committee, told the publication that the orders are "extremely counterproductive, nonsensical and ludicrous".

He said: “This is ridiculous, bordering on the criminal, to actually be wasting vaccines when you have the worst global healthcare crisis for a century."

uk.yahoo.com/news/doctos-throw-out-leftover-vaccines-second-doses-nhs-england-154924350.html

Sarnia Sun 17-Jan-21 15:18:15

My SIL is a key worker on cancer research. His workplace is located next to a major hospital who found they had a few vaccine doses left one day last week. They rang to ask if any of the research staff would like their 1st jab. My SIL rolled up his sleeve and has his card to prove it. Much better than wasting it.

GrannyLaine Sun 17-Jan-21 15:12:20

Glad to see that I'm not the only one who is sick and tired of so many of these posts peddling misinformation. Does the OP not realise how utterly dispiriting it must be for those working their socks off to reach as many people as possible, as quickly as possible and who, moreover, have the nous to use the vaccine safely and effectively?

petra Sun 17-Jan-21 15:11:25

I believe bibas post was personal and have reported it as such.

Marydoll Sun 17-Jan-21 15:02:54

Biba I think that your comment to Maw Brown constitues a personal attack and is totally irrelevant to this thread.

Furthermore, I cannot understand why this thread was even started in the first place, without concrete evidence.

MawBe Sun 17-Jan-21 14:19:04

Biba that is unfair.
I have neither “seen red” nor “gone on the attack”
I said at 12.04 that I did not want to get into an argument.
I did not accuse the doctors in question of lying.
I hope subsequent posts by Allegrias and Chewbacca have made this clearer.
I am glad to see you have made a recovery from Covid and hope your DH is similarly restored to health.

biba70 Sun 17-Jan-21 14:16:06

Alegrias, only two people know what was said and by whom. None of us can guess- or put our slant on it. Hence my suggestion that someone could ask them in person.

Bowing out too.

Alegrias1 Sun 17-Jan-21 14:08:06

Cross post Chewbacca

Alegrias1 Sun 17-Jan-21 14:07:44

Nobody has said that these doctors are liars.

I posted something that I believe to be true - that they have been quoted out of context.

I do believe that better clarity on the situation would have been arrived at earlier if they had each tried to get at the heart of the issue by contacting NHS England rather than giving quotes to news organisations.

Chewbacca Sun 17-Jan-21 14:06:24

biba I believe Allegria1 answered your question @ 11.51 today. I've reported it for you now, just in case you missed it.

It doesn't matter how many times posters say "Why would these people lie"? It doesn't make the argument any better.
They probably didn't lie, they were probably quoted out of context.
By the way, its not unknown for senior medics to lie.....and unlike the Pope, they are not infallible

Hth.

biba70 Sun 17-Jan-21 13:59:32

Maw, sadly, just sees red and goes on the attack, as soon as she sees ma name. She just cannot help it, I believe- it is what it is.

It does NOT make Dr Morely or Dr McGregor- liars.

biba70 Sun 17-Jan-21 13:57:56

The truth is that is was not official orders from above. Which does not mean that was the advice at local level, as reported by eminent Doctors. It is great that the issue has now been made clear, that these guys did not, I am very sure, lie

Dr Robert Morely, director of professional support at the Birmingham Local Medical Committee, told the publication that the orders are "extremely counterproductive, nonsensical and ludicrous"

Why would someone like Dr Robert Morely lie?

Dr Brian McGregor, a GP who chairs the BMA's Yorkshire regional committee, told the Telegraph that NHS England ordered his local clinical commissioning group to throw away any unused doses.

McGregor claimed they had been warned they would be "performance managed" on the issue.

Why would someone like Dr Brian McGregor lie?

petra Sun 17-Jan-21 13:52:38

Chewbacca
There's a clue in the OP. Yahoo.

Chewbacca Sun 17-Jan-21 13:39:26

Possibly the most damaging saying in the English language is "No smoke without fire". Lots of smoke here in this story, no fire.

Agreed Allegrias1, that and an over eagerness to pounce on anything negative and repost it as quickly as possible without checking it's veracity. Think it's called "confirmation bias".

Peasblossom Sun 17-Jan-21 13:31:44

Nicely derailed Gagjo ?

MawBe Sun 17-Jan-21 12:52:11

GagaJo

Calling someone facile IS an insult. I may not know the precise ins and outs of NHS vaccine policy (as NO ONE on here does, including you) but I do know how to analyse language use.

If you want to cast the first stone...

I believe I apologised. Whether you accept that is of course up to you.

GagaJo Sun 17-Jan-21 12:51:10

I am bowing out of this thread now BEFORE it turns into a pile on or a bunfight.

GagaJo Sun 17-Jan-21 12:47:05

Calling someone facile IS an insult. I may not know the precise ins and outs of NHS vaccine policy (as NO ONE on here does, including you) but I do know how to analyse language use.

If you want to cast the first stone...

MawBe Sun 17-Jan-21 12:42:17

GagaJo

You think I am facile for a poster saying they know 'the truth'? That is either an example of malapropism OR arrogance. I gave you the benefit of humour but if you want to go with insult, I am more than capable of giving like for like.

It’s not an insult Gagajo “ truth” need not have only Divine connotations, I thought you were attempting to ridicule me by your “Biblical” or “instructions from above” which struck me as irrelevant, facile and demeaning. (When used in the religious sense, I believe it is more commonly written with a capital “T”. )
If it was not intended in this way I apologise, but maintain that the “truth” behind any second or third hand story is of fundamental relevance.

Elegran Sun 17-Jan-21 12:32:18

NHS England primary care clinical director Dr Nikki Kanani said they have ‘absolutely NOT told anyone to throw vaccine away’, describing the concept as ‘shocking’.

Alegrias1 Sun 17-Jan-21 12:26:51

Possibly the most damaging saying in the English language is "No smoke without fire". Lots of smoke here in this story, no fire.

GagaJo Sun 17-Jan-21 12:16:21

You think I am facile for a poster saying they know 'the truth'? That is either an example of malapropism OR arrogance. I gave you the benefit of humour but if you want to go with insult, I am more than capable of giving like for like.

GagaJo Sun 17-Jan-21 12:12:26

MawBe

Read the posts Biba , read the truth.

'read the truth'

I am probably misquoting here (a long time since I have been in church), but 'The way, the truth, the life.' AKA the word of god.

MawBe Sun 17-Jan-21 12:05:55

GagaJo

My goodness Maw, that sounds very biblical. Are you getting instructions from from above now?

Oops! Fat finger syndrome again
Biblical? In what way, merely saying check the facts.
Don’t be facile please.

MawBe Sun 17-Jan-21 12:04:55

GagaJo

My goodness Maw, that sounds very biblical. Are you getting instructions from from above now?

Don’t bevfavile

MawBe Sun 17-Jan-21 12:04:34

Biba, I’m not going to get into an argument about why someone might have lied or been misreported or indeed quoted out of context.
Why would they lie? Did they lie? Who knows? But journalists
are notoriously adept at turning what a person said to make for a headline grabbing quote.
However look at the timing of the articles in question - the yahoo news.com item comes a full day after clear instructions to the contrary.
As Alegrias has explained very articulately, it is a sloppily written and poorly researched article
The yahoo article and all the other articles reporting this are trying to conflate the instructions to discard vaccines once they have passed their "use by" time with the letter from the NHS saying that one dose should be given right now. Some local health boards have issued confusing information which people think would be better discussed on national news media, instead of clarifying the instructions with the NHS