Bureaucratic nonsense

Alegrias! I thought you were going to make lunch before posting!

Let's all just be KIND to the countless workers who are doing whatever they can under enormous pressure. It's really not realistic to expect everyone to get all the new and ever changing covid procedures right as soon as they are conceived. Perhaps too many of us have expectations that are unreasonably high?

Aveline

*Alegrias*! I thought you were going to make lunch before posting!

I did - fish and chips! Yum....

Alegrias hence the change in mood and tone, oh wait...

Did you put too much vinegar on your fish and chips, Alegrias?

I'm not fond of vinegar, and I'm salty enough as it is.

I don't necessarily have high expectations of the staff manning the phones - I am aware that they are probably doing it for a pittance with little or no support. I would however have high expectations of the well paid people who are employed to plan and set up the systems.

I should make it clear that on all occasions of having frustrated contact with those on the sharp end I was of course unfailingly polite. They have a shit job to do - I am aware of that.

I take your point Luckygirl. I'm two weeks away from being eligible for a booster. I haven't a clue what's going on and just have to be patient. I'm optimistic that I will be offered an appointment, but I'd like to know when, so I can put it in my diary and work round it. The original doses were only offered locally on Saturdays, when I work and can't really afford to lose income. It's possible I can juggle my timetable around or find another vaccination centre, but the point is I need to plan for it. I had hoped I'd be able to make an advance appointment (as I did for my second dose), but it appears the system doesn't allow it.

Yes - the advance booking seems to be no more.

growstuff check local walk-in clinics, I had my third vaccine this morning and there was a sign outside offering walk-ins for 1st, 2nd and 3rd doses.

Well ....here's a thing. I have just had a call from the local vaccine centre - this was initiated by the health authority. She said that they are totally fed up with the system as the gap used to be 180 days and everyone was encouraged to book but was then changed to 190 days without warning, so they are the ones having to pick up the pieces of all that.

She said that I should be able to get through to the website on Thursday and book there - she said they had spaces empty so would be happy to fill them. I thanked her and put the phone down.

She then rang back and said she had gone into the website as if she were me and they had allowed her to book for me! So on Saturday afternoon I will be filling one of their vacant slots and will arrive with my sleeve rolled up and raring to go.

It means that the vaccine will have had time to take effect by the time I am riding the trains, so I, and those travelling alongside me, will be better protected. I will then have done all I can.

Does it need to be so complicated I ask myself?

GrannyGravy13

growstuff check local walk-in clinics, I had my third vaccine this morning and there was a sign outside offering walk-ins for 1st, 2nd and 3rd doses.

There is a local walk-in clinic, but I can't book. My local one is currently only doing vaccinations on Saturdays, when I work. I don't want to spend ages queuing when I could be earning money. If I could have a timed appointment, I wouldn't waste so much time queuing. Alternatively, I wouldn't mind travelling to a centre which could offer an appointment when I don't have any work.

The point is that I need to be able to plan it. If there is no alternative to a Saturday, I need to negotiate an alternative time with my Saturday students. I do try to remain professional and give the impression I know what I'm doing . It's half term next week, so there won't be any lessons, so my next scheduled lessons would have been the Saturday I become eligible for vaccination.

It's not something which I'm getting wound up about, but it is annoying that I can't book somewhere in advance. There must be other people in the same situation.

Luckygirl

I am not asking anyone to make an exception for me; I am simply asking that when people try to book they are answered by an efficient system. There is a lot hanging on an effective booster vaccine programme, and it should be made as easy as possible for people to book.

I understood what you meant.

It’s frustrating knowing you have to call back instead of them booking you for after you are eligible

Alegrias1

I'm going to cook lunch before I post something I shouldn't.

But first...the NHS website is explicit in talking about " at least six months ". "You will be invited to book", it says. It doesn't say "call us up and see if we can fit you in earlier because you want to go on holiday".

So, we could get up in arms about it and angry because its more than 6 months, or we could appreciate that this is a huge undertaking and they will got round to us all, and that going on holiday isn't a reason to want your booster quicker.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/coronavirus-booster-vaccine/

According to your own link

So if she’s past 190 days (which at 30 weeks she is) she’s not trying to game the system

Yes but I'm not sure where that 30 weeks came from if OP agrees she's not 6 calendar months' past till thursday.

It will be 6 months and one day this coming Saturday since my second vaccination. I tried to book my booster on the NHS app only to be informed I am not eligible - I am 72. I now wait to be invited for my booster . I must confess I am very anxious indeed to be vaccinated. I have taken great care during the pandemic, scarcely been any where, cancelled my Grandma duty ! All I want now is to receive that invitation. I am trying to remain calm but it is not easy. My husband is older than me and has had his some weeks ago.
I am finding this waiting very stressful indeed!!!!!

My aged and housebound mum has just received a letter telling her to go to a centre 20 miles away for her booster. She can’t manage that. She phoned her GP practice who gave her a helpline to call. They referred her back to her GP. ?‍♀️

I don't know whether it's related, but Nadhim Zahawi was moved from Vaccines to Education Minister at a critical stage.

Emily Lawson, who was the former head of the vaccines programme, has recently been moved back to her former role from Number 10.

news.sky.com/story/covid-19-former-vaccine-chief-dr-emily-lawson-returns-to-nhs-amid-concerns-about-pace-of-booster-jabs-rollout-12441847

I get the impression that, compared with the original programme, the booster programme has been a bit of a shambles. Key people had gone, so experience was lost and the new people didn't seem to know what they were doing. I suspect the government knows that, which is why Dr Lawson has been moved back.

Shelflife - I am guessing that the website says you are not eligible because of the time since the second vaccination. At 72 you are definitely in an eligible group. I hope that you will get your vaccine soon.

SueDonim - so many people have been dealing with this sort of confusion. It is so important that the system is clear and efficient. A lot hangs on getting this right.

I'm so glad you're booked for the vaccine Luckygirl. The lady sounds very helpful.
But so complicated!
I hope you enjoy your break.

You’re right about the confusion, Luckygirl. People in Aberdeen were sent appointments at non-existent vaccination centres! Staff at sundry little community halls were most bemused when people started turning up demanding boosters.

SueDonim - that is beyond credence!

nadateturbe - thanks for your good wishes - I got there in the end!

IKR! www.scotsman.com/health/coronavirus/covid-scotland-appointments-rearranged-as-aberdeen-public-sent-to-wrong-location-for-their-covid-and-flu-jabs-3415308

You know what?

Everyone wants their booster the day the day after their six months is up? Well, life is hard. You might not get it.

Parents got theirs about 4 weeks after their six month anniversary. They weren't knocking on doors or calling up helplines indignantly telling everyone that it was past six months and they were entitled. They had worked out that there are several million people eligible to get it and that immunity doesn't fall off a cliff the day after your six month anniversary. Unlike those several Aberdonians who the Scotsman think we need to know about, they walked down the road to the local vaccine hub and got jagged.

So we can all be really upset that we have to wait a couple of extra weeks, or we can be really grateful that we live in a country where we're getting a booster at all. I'm in the second group. You'll all have to choose for yourselves where you fit.