The Vaccine

Madness not to.

If you decide not to go ahead, then what?

The virus will still be lurking and you will still need to social distance etc if you haven’t had it.

It will totally constrict the rest of your life, not forgetting you would be a pain in the proverbial to the NHS having to be treated when there was absolutely ino need to be.

Annsixty I’ve been thinking about this and come to the conclusion I’ll be grateful for the Oxford one but not so sure about the Pfizer one! I wonder how they’ll go about which one to use. I read a very large amount of the Oxford has been ordered so maybe that’s what most people will get after the most urgent groups have been vaccinated?

I'm undecided too annsixty and admit to being wary as well. Like yourself I've had those jabs that you mentioned and didn't turn a hair, maybe because they've been going for years and have established themselves as being a safe-guard against the illnesses that they protect.

This one I'm unsure of particularly as there's one specifically for those over a particular age which tells me that if you're inadvertently given the " run of the mill " vaccine, that it would have unwelcome adverse effects.

Even with the shingles jab, or any other for that matter they seems to give a deadline of 80 years old, meaning beyond that the immune system will either not cope the same or the side-effects are dodgy.
It'll either kill or cure

The Oxford one won’t be available for ages: the Pfizer one will though. They are all pretty similar anyway from what I’ve read. Thee only one I’d have reservations about having is the Sputnik one but I won’t be offered that one anyway! The pharmacist that gave my pneumonia jab said she knew of people that had contracted shingles from the shingles jab (I’d said how I wished I was eligible for that one) so you were probably more at risk having that one than the COVID one. For what it’s worth I’d still have the shingles one if I could.

I'm certainly not open to any old vaccine that comes along first.
I really want to know what's in these vaccines !

annesixty. I think the reason you feel as you do is because, even though one is firmly provax, the miasma of anti-vax that floats around us wrappingits delicate tentacles round our ears, inevitably affects how we think.

I will be first in the queue for the vaccine. DH is part of the phase 3 trials for the Oxford vaccine, so we are fully committed, but ywt - that antivax miasma, wraps itself around my ears as well.

Another one here would like to be first in the queue.

I think all the vaccines have elements of previously used vaccines (not sure that's what the scientists call it!) which reassures me that they will be safe.

Anything which helps to get us back to "normal" is ok by me

I was going to ask why you are reluctant annsixty but I think M0nica sums up the situation very well. Already in this thread there is a raft of vaccine myths – such as there’s a special one for older people - although the most common complaint in general seems to be that his has been rushed through.

My mum is the same age as you annsixty and she’s champing at the bit as well, like your friend. I’ll be taking whatever vaccine my doctor offers me, because if its being offered that means it has gone through all of the necessary safety and effectiveness checks. I won’t know what’s in it because I’m not a medical scientist, but I trust the people who are, and the regulatory bodies. If we stop doing that, we’ll be in a pretty bad way.

Its natural to have doubts, but it’s also sensible to listen to reasonable explanations. I hope the government have a good communication campaign about this so that as many people as possible take the vaccine up and we will all benefit from that.

I'm a bit of a vaccine phobic. I had my first flu jab this year because I felt a responsibility not to be ill and strain the NHS. Never had the pneumonia or shingles one. I'm a bit worried about the shingles as I had it several years ago and when I am run down I still get some irritation in the nerves it affected.For the covid one I'm not sure. Will they test first to see if you have actually had it? It seems there might be a substantial amount of people who have had it wthout knowing. I also wonder about the people who are going to actually do it. I don't mind trained health care assistants but I don't think I want a fireman giving me an injection.

I have just read an article that said that some people who are allergic to a certain antibiotic will not be able to have one of the vaccines but the Oxford one will be ok as it doesn't use the antibiotic in its manufacture. This was the first time I had come across this so more information needed.
I had said I would want the vaccine as early as possible but at 64 will be a bit down the list. Now I want to know if it has been tested on people with certain health conditions such as the type of blood cancer I have.
We can only hope the powers that be give plenty of information out, all in all I still want it.

I keep telling myself not to get into this kind of discussion but then I see some things that are posted and feel I have to say something.

Even if you have had COVID, natural immunity has not been proved to be long lasting, so you still need the vaccine. That's why the PM is in isolation just now. Resistance to the virus conferred by the vaccine is not the same as natural immunity.

Anyone giving you the vaccine jab will have been trained. They're not just going to hand over the needles to some burly fireman and tell them to get on with it.

I'm with those expressing a preference for the Oxford vaccine which I understand is not a live vaccine.
I am a long way down the list.

Recently I noticed a poster in our surgery explaining that different vaccines against flu are given to folk of different ages. trisher with the shingles vaccine, it is still given even if you’ve had it already (I’d had it twice, aged 19 and 62) because it lessens the severity of any future attacks.
I’m 70 and would like to have the vaccine to protect me and those with whom I mix, besides supporting the NHS by reducing the likelihood of needing treatment.

Yes thats another thing, with Essential Thrombocythemia I can't have a live vaccine as the shingles one is. So I suppose that means the need to check.

None of them are live vaccines. If you haven't seen the schedule, the Health Service Journal published this last week. Apologies for the length, but it might be behind a paywall for some, and I thought you would be interested.

Exclusive: NHS planning to start covid vaccination of under 50s by end of January
By Jasmine Rapson20 November 2020
•Plan to vaccinate England’s population by end of April
•Would see vaccination of all priority cohorts completed by end of February
•Depends on supplies arriving on time and other assumptions
•Priority groups may include 5-6 million unpaid carers
•Pick your vaccination site online, from local and regional centres
The NHS’ current plan for the covid vaccine rollout — dependent on the arrival of supplies — would see the whole adult population able to begin receiving it before the end of January, according to leaked documents seen by HSJ.
Under the plan, everyone who wants to would have been vaccinated by early April.
NHS England’s draft covid-19 vaccine deployment programme, seen by HSJ, reveals when each cohort is likely to begin receiving it, based on its plans to create huge capacity across GP-run facilities, “large scale mass vaccination sites”, NHS trusts, and “roving models” for those who cannot travel.
It relies on a range of assumptions including that there will be 75 per cent takeup, outside of residential settings like care homes and prisons, where 100 per cent is expected.
The plan also relies on supplies, including more than 7 million doses being available in December. It is not clear what impact a delay to this would have on the rollout. With most doses due to be administered between early January and mid March — at a rate of 4-5 million every week — a small delay may not make a huge impact to the overall schedule.
The document is dated 13 November and was shared among some senior NHS regional leaders yesterday.
The document sets out, under this main planning scenario, when each population group would begin to receive the vaccine. Cohorts would run concurrently — one does not need to be completed before another starts.
It starts with care home residents, social care workers and healthcare workers at the beginning of December. It states that there is uncertainty about whether government will decide if unpaid carers are included in the care worker cohort — if so, it would add more than 5 million people to this priority group.
The plan would see vaccination of all priority cohorts completed by the end of February, with everyone who wants it in the English over-18s population vaccinated by April.
The dates pencilled in for beginning each group are:
•Care home residents and staff, healthcare workers - from beginning of December;
•Ages 80 plus - from mid-December;
•Everyone aged 70-80 - from late December;
•Everyone aged 65-70 - from early January;
•All high and moderate risk under 65s - from early January;
•Everyone aged 50-65 - from mid January; and
•Everyone aged 18-50 - from late January; but with the bulk of this group vaccinated during March.
The plan would see 88.5 million vaccination doses delivered across England, with two doses per person over the age of 18, by the end of April. The doses must be given 28 days apart, for both the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine (known in the planning documents by the codename Courageous) and the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine (known by the name Talent), according to the document.
The document stresses the plan is based on current supply intelligence, subject to data from trials and licensing by regulators, to some unknowns about logistics of delivery, and government decisions about priority groups.
Huge capacity
The document outlines the huge capacity to administer doses. The biggest total — 33.9 million — are due to be done at “community mass vaccination sites”, of which GPs have been asked to establish about one in each primary care network (around 1,000 nationally). However, only 6 million fewer — 27.7 million — are pencilled in for “large scale mass vaccination centres”, of which there are expected to be around 40-50 across England in conference centres, stadiums and similar venues.
On top of this, nearly 2 million would be delivered by NHS trusts to their staff (between December and mid January), and roving teams would deliver 3.5 million to care homes, people who are housebound, and detainees.
Vaccination large scale and community centres (including those operated by primary care) will be operational seven days a week, 12 hours per day.
The plan also states that: “Eligible individuals will be able to book a vaccine at any available vaccination site of their choice irrespective of distance from their home address.”
Modelling suggests there is expected to be 15-20 per cent of vaccine wasted, but the service is being asked to keep waste to an “absolute minimum”, according to the plan.
The document includes little detail on the logistical challenges of getting the vaccines — which rely on strict cold-chains — to the right sites at the right time.

I hope we are given a choice when having the vaccine. I would prefer the Oxford one as it is 'homegrown' not sure if that is a viable enough reason but it is how i feel at the moment.

I will be scared when having it done but what else can we do?? If we want some sort of 'normal' life to return we have to take the risk.

Where there is a need for viral vaccines there has to be cells from ( a once living animal ) in which to grow viral cells as these cells need a form of nutrition. It can't be artificially done.

I'd rather sit tight and wait until Spring of next year for the GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi Pasteur. Meanwhile I'll be squirting Olbas oil up the nostrils

Will ministers be first in the queue I wonder ? We'll see !

Does anyone feel more reassured by the fact that the Oxford vaccine is non profit making and will be given to as many people in the world as possible when it passes all the tests?

Funny you should say that EllanVannin my DH says he'll be happy to have his if Boris goes first!

Alegrias2 they were saying on TV the other day that they would use people with first aid training like fireman. I'm afraid I don't think first aid training is enough to administer vaccines.

I can't wait, it feels like the only light at the end of a very long tunnel, oh and if I get a 'burly fireman' thrown in I will consider that a bonus!

I lived abroad with a young baby. When she was ill a doctor would prescribe an injection, presumably antibiotics and the Mum or Dad was expected to administer

I found this strange but soon got used to it and became a dab hand at it

It's not as difficult as it seems. In fact it's very simple. It's not going into a vein which would be cause for concern. So all is well.

There is a series of Podcasts on BBC that provide very valuable information and facts which allows us all to make an informed choice. If you listen to the scientists who actually research and deliver the information , it is very reassuring to even the most pessimistic and cautious person.
Personally, I can’t wait to have my vaccination.