Bureaucratic nonsense

Touchy, touchy....

trisher

growstuff

Thanks trisher. That could explain what's going on. Why didn't the NHS just be honest and say there might be some problems and delays, but hang on, we've got plenty and you'll all be vaccinated? Rather than treating us like mindless zombies who shouldn't question anything and should be grateful we don't live in Timbuctoo.

I think the OP vividly illusrates why they didn't say. Can you imagine how many people would have tried to get themselves pushed up the ladder if they thought it might not work so well? Or attempt to book their jab well in advance so they didn't miss out.

trisher I don't want to be pushed up the ladder. With the first two doses I booked online. My first dose was about a month after I became eligible, but it was the first available. I didn't complain, I put it in my diary and waited. I was able to book the second dose at the same time.

Firstly, communication about how I book has been dreadful. I received a text from my GP ages ago, saying that I would be eligible, not to do anything and not to contact the GP surgery because they wouldn't talk to me about vaccines. There has been no other communication from the health authority or local authority or anything written in the local media. I didn't do anything, as requested. I become eligible for my booster in 10 days. It just so happens that the vaccination centre is a couple of hundred metres away from where I live and I saw a big sign saying "Just walk in" (or similar), so I Googled to find out what was going on. The centre is offering on vaccinations on Saturdays only, which is not at all convenient for me. Cancelling my work on a Saturday would mean losing a big chink of my income.

I'll continue to be patient, but I'm still not sure what I'm going to do.

I don't want to jump any queue. I want to do as the government has requested and get my jab within the next few weeks, but I still don't know how. I could end up as one of the unvaccinated and the "complainers" on here would label me as selfish or worse.

I really don't understand why there can't be an advance booking system. Strangely enough, I'm not happy being treated like somebody in a cattle market, as somebody on here thinks I should be happy about.

I'm not hugely bothered because I don't go out much and I'm always super careful. Quite honestly, I'm more irritated by some of the posters on here, who seem to think we should just be pushed around without an adequate explanation. We're not children.

Alegrias1

growstuff

With the original programme I was able to book both doses weeks in advance on a day and time which was convenient. The roll out was a remarkable achievement and I'm not being told by a random person that it's the same this time when it quite clearly isn't.

Trisha's post offers an explanation, as does the earlier one posted by somebody who works in a GP surgery.

Not keen on the evidence presented then? Rather rely on your own experience?

Okey dokey.

I'm not going to respond to you because I would be banned from GN.

I really think she should sign up for a booster class in reading comprehension (and try to stop eating lemons).

A friend of mine spent ages on the phone booking his booster. But when he then asked for his wife to have hers (they were both due at the same time) she has to have hers a week later. Which is a nuisance as she doesn’t drive. Am I right in thinking that the Pfizer vaccine no longer has to be kept at sub zero temperatures? I’m sure I read ages ago that it was now easier to transport.

Which is a nuisance as she doesn’t drive.

Seriously? It’s a nuisance? Thank goodness we live in a first world country and the biggest nuisance in life is a couple having to visit the vaccination centre twice in a week, in order to receive a life saving vaccine.

Try telling people in third world countries that it’s a nuisance having to drive twice in a week to receive a life saving vaccine.

I really am bemused, honestly. I'm going to say "you", but I just mean anyone, not a specific person.

We're getting a booster at least six months after the second dose. Not exactly six months, at least six months. So I seriously don't understand the headlong rush to get it as soon as you possibly can and the concern that if you don't devote all your energy to that you'll either be derided as unvaccinated or will suddenly become significantly more likely to catch covid, almost overnight. Immunity wanes, it doesn't plummet.

It doesn't mean you are being treated like a child if you understand that there are 10s of millions of people to get the booster, and maybe they won't be able to give you a date right now, or take your booking when you want them to take your booking. It is behaving like a child to demand that things are done your way when that's not how things are set up.

If I said what I thought about entitled people I'd get banned too.

Maybe some of us are really afraid and don’t feel that we can begin to resume any sort of normal life until we have had our booster. Every time I resolve to eg see my family the safety goalposts seem to move further away. As DH and I have both done everything possible to protect ourselves the number of infections has risen and, yes, we’re scared. It might seem petty and silly to you but to me it’s very real. I’ve been ridiculed by many people over the past 20 months for being uber cautious and, quite frankly, I can do without people on here criticising some of us for just wanting the extra safety that the booster will give us. I saw my grandsons today because I’m looking after their dog while they have a mini break. They had to cancel their holiday because my grandson caught covid two weeks before he was due to be vaccinated. The eldest boy has gone from being a child to a young man and I’ve missed seeing that happen. And I’ve shed many tears over it. So being ridiculed by people for being scared doesn’t help matters. I’m as sick of being laughed at I am of being I’m sick of the virus. Perhaps a bit is sensitivity wouldn’t go amiss.

Yes, in Scotland we receive appointments in the post - well in the north east we do. Perhaps other health boards do it differently. I had mine last Friday, along with the flu vaccine.

I agree with the inefficient system. I rang to change their booster date only to receive a text to confirm the wrong date. The appointment is 25 miles away, whereas two other local surgeries get theirs done 6 miles away. That’s 150 miles for three visits instead of only 36 miles. Multiply that by 1000 people and that’s a huge amount of pollution that could have been avoided.

maddyone

^Which is a nuisance as she doesn’t drive.^

Seriously? It’s a nuisance? Thank goodness we live in a first world country and the biggest nuisance in life is a couple having to visit the vaccination centre twice in a week, in order to receive a life saving vaccine.

Try telling people in third world countries that it’s a nuisance having to drive twice in a week to receive a life saving vaccine.

But it is a nuisance. Surely it couldn't have been difficult to do them at the same time!

Luckygirl I agree with you totally. I am not due my booster
untill the beginning of December and as I am going to Air
Travel a couple of weeks later I want to make sure I have the Booster asap when I become eligible.
So I looked at making an appointment on line and found plenty of slots up to November 30th. I'll wait another week and see if the slots move up into December.
Of course this is France so yet again I can be called 'Smug in
France' as someone on this forum preferes.

I would add that i'm sure the medical services in any country
would prefer people who know they are going into potential
crowded situations to take the booster and thus reduce the risk of ending up in their care. If I was staying at home I wouldn't
mind any date

The post was posted on Tuesday morning, obviously the lady on the phone couldn’t book in an appointment then as couldn’t be booked until Thursday, what’s wrong in waiting couple more days to book ? Why all the fuss over two days ? Ok , would have to go back through the system on the phone , which is annoying, but does it matter ? If there wasn’t a system put into place for everyone to adhere to then it would be absolute chaos . The system is there for a reason , so just be patient and wait until couple days have passed as ring again…..why is everyone wanting everything done “ now “ !

DH had another email yesterday afternoon and he has his booster booked for this afternoon. I guess the email last week was just an error.

Quote from Tom Spector:

Professor Tim Spector of the Zoe Covid Study has said "the average seems to drop about 3% a month.

Nobody is criticising anyone for being scared, but a bit of reality across the board wouldn't go amiss.

I believe the advice is to wait to be contacted? (Unless you are NHS frontline staff, in which case you can book on line)? Having been double jabbed and having caught Covid despite being careful, I now just carry on with the same precautions. What else can we do?

But it is a nuisance. Surely it couldn’t have been difficult to do them both at th3 same time.

You just don’t get it do you natateturbe? We are priveleged to be getting a third vaccine in this country and the entitlement of some people is frankly unbelievable. Nuisance is unbelievable. Some people in this world have to walk hours in a day just to get clean water. Some people in this world have to walk days to get to the nearest hospital or doctor. We are priveleged to live here, just a simple accident of birth, and people moan about having to make a little effort to access their third free vaccine. Frankly I’m astounded! How about a little sense of proportion. We should all be grateful that we’re being offered, and will get, a third vaccine.

Maybee I understand that you have been, and are, very afraid, and that you have done everything possible to keep yourself and your husband safe. It’s your friend you has complained and said it’s a nuisance to have to go twice in the week to get vaccines. It’s your friend who is ungrateful, not you. I apologise if you thought I was saying you’re ungrateful, I wasn’t, I was commenting on your friend’s attitude, not yours.

BlueSky I’m the same as you. I’ve been vaccinated twice and I caught Covid before I was vaccinated. I was very ill and hospitalised for twelve days, on oxygen all that time, and treated with eight different drugs. I’m exceedingly grateful to our wonderful health service because they saved my life. I’m also grateful to have been vaccinated twice, and I’ll be grateful to get my third vaccine, whenever that might be. I’ve always been careful, but at the moment I’m even more careful, because numbers are high. I understand totally people being happy to get a third vaccine, and I understand that some people are very afraid of this awful virus. I don’t understand how people can moan and have no sense of gratitude.

Growstuff some of the comments on this thread (not yours) make me feel like not engaging with GN any more.

Agree Maddyone I caught Covid after my double jabs and I guess it was thanks to the vaccinations that I was just unwell for about 3 weeks with what seemed like a ‘normal’ flu.

I feel more unsafe now when I go out than I did last year, simply because the majority of people are not wearing masks or sanitising their hands in public places, unless they are required to do so.
I phoned 119 yesterday to book booster jabs for me, my husband and my Mum at our local hospital. After lots of extension options and waiting for several minutes, I managed to get through to a very nice man who went through all our details one at a time. He asked if we were feeling unwell - we weren’t. I mentioned that my Mum had had her flu jab the previous day and he advised that she should wait 7 days before having the COVID booster. So I had to cancel the 3 appointments. He said that our details would be retained so that I wouldn’t have to go through it all again (NHS nos., DOBs, etc.
After the call we checked the NHS COVID website - it states that it’s safe to have the flu and COVID jabs together! So…I phoned 119 again and spoke to a different person. My details had not been retained, so I did have to go through it all again! Not only our details, but their system doesn’t record phone nos. either, so after each booking I had to quote my number for confirmation messages. Both of the people I spoke to were lovely, but it must equally frustrating for them to have to keep repeating the same questions. ?
I agree we are very lucky to have the opportunity to get the booster jab, but the booking system needs to be improved.

Nannapat1

Growstuff some of the comments on this thread (not yours) make me feel like not engaging with GN any more.

I know how you feel.

maddyone

^But it is a nuisance. Surely it couldn’t have been difficult to do them both at th3 same time.^

You just don’t get it do you natateturbe? We are priveleged to be getting a third vaccine in this country and the entitlement of some people is frankly unbelievable. Nuisance is unbelievable. Some people in this world have to walk hours in a day just to get clean water. Some people in this world have to walk days to get to the nearest hospital or doctor. We are priveleged to live here, just a simple accident of birth, and people moan about having to make a little effort to access their third free vaccine. Frankly I’m astounded! How about a little sense of proportion. We should all be grateful that we’re being offered, and will get, a third vaccine.

Yeah! And I bet your mother told you to eat your greens because poor children in Africa are starving.

You might be happy to be treated as an unquestioning peasant, but I'm not.

Good grief! I can’t believe the way this thread has gone. Each to their own I suppose but without ‘nasties’ would be nice.