I wonder what they think you could do in the car if you had an anaphylactic reaction?
Fair point, but (a) the car was parked close to the main entrance, and (b) there were 3-4 volunteers in the area who would have been available to help...I would probably have had time to shout for assistance, and they had medics on scene just in case.
Waiting in the car is standard procedure here. If you have a reaction, you're asked to blow the horn/flash the headlights and someone will come to help you.
I could see it working if they had someone assigned to watch the cars and do nothing else, all day. But expecting a person having a sudden reaction to try to catch somebody's attention with shouting or car signals is ... iffy. (I speak as an asthmatic here)
No, I am NOT going to write a nice *Thank You* letter to the Prime Minister, coz ISTM that he has no right to arrogate the success of the vaccination programme for himself.
No, I am NOT going to write a nice *Thank You* letter to the Prime Minister, coz ISTM that he has no right to arrogate the success of the vaccination programme for himself.
Just write to Matt then
The fact that such fine progress is being made DESPITE the years and years of cutbacks is a credit to the NHS, and a shame and a hissing to the *government*.
The ECB was impressively good with organising the cricket season last summer. They have also been quite sensible about trying to organise the counties this year.
Our local vaccination centre is a 5 minute stagger across the local car park.
There was no waiting after I had my AZ vaccination at one of the big NHS hubs. A few chairs were sited between the vaccinating area and the exit, in case anyone felt dizzy, but otherwise it was just jab and go.
Mr RS had the Pfizer at a GP clinic, and afterwards he had to wait for 15 minutes before being allowed to leave.
I'm supposed to be getting my first shot tomorrow! My daughter, who is really worried about Covid, and really persistent, found a site that had available appointments, and made me one. Of course it's all the way in Brooklyn, but I'll take whatever I can get.
It is generally the Pfizer vaccine that needs a 15 minute wait in case of side effects. AZ does not need it (I gather there have been no cases of anaphylaxis with AZ) though some centres are cautious and do make you wait routinely regardless of which one you have had.
Our jab site (Oxford/AstraZeneca) asked each of us on separate occasions if we had driven there. Once we said yes, but were accompanied by another driver, they let us go, but said they were advising lone drivers to wait 15 minutes - presumably in case you felt faint while driving - as I have seen reported on the very thread.
@Miffy - not only qualify as a carer, but the day after I booked myself a jab, got an official letter from the NHS telling me our records show that you are a carer for someone who is clinically vulnerable to COVID-19 and you are therefore eligible for the free coronavirus vaccine.
What I'd like to know now is when the clinically vulnerable cared for becomes eligible. (Clinically vulnerable people were on the last tranche, from 14 February - from here) for which she needs a letter informing her she's either clinically vulnerable or should apply. I can't book her in without evidence of either as she's too young to qualify now.
The consensus of opinion was that my local GP surgery is flaky and I should go ahead and book myself in when chatting to the other youth group leaders I'm working with (online) rather than wait. Am a very irritated carer now, it looks as if I could have booked us both in at the same time or she'd already have her first vaccine.
I was advised to wait five minutes (A/Z), and when I got up tripped over the chair because I was wearing a different mask from usual, and it pushed my glasses (varifocals) loose and I was trying to get them back on. I was giving a very convincing appearance of being dizzy
I was able to get on a list at a local vaccination centre in case they had any spare vaccine left over at the end of the day and were looking for arms to put it into.
I had a phone call at 3.05pm on Monday "Can you get there in the next 20 - 30 mins?" After a quick change of tee shirt for one with short sleeves, I departed and was back home within the hour having had the AZ vaccine and been told to wait for 15 mins. The longest part of the whole operation with the health questionnaire/ID check. I was concerned that I was depriving some one who needed it more than me but the staff were very clear that they had some space vaccine which couldn't be used up and couldn't be kept until the following day, and they would far rather it was used by someone than it be discarded.
I felt extremely relieved, which is odd because having had the jab it doesn't make a scrap of difference re wearing face masks, socially distancing etc. I think we will be doing that for months to come, if not well into next year.
It doesn't make a scrap of difference re wearing face masks, socially distancing etc. I think we will be doing that for months to come, if not well into next year.
Indeed. The vaccine does not guarantee that you will not catch the virus if exposed to it. It merely lessens the chance that you will and, if you do, that the symptoms will be severe. The risk is not eliminated completely.
I don't know @Piglet . . Mr Nen and I have been digging around on the Net for the past day or so and he read something that seemed to say once the letters for the next batch of eligible people are being prepared it seems to release their NHS numbers so that they can book an appointment on the system at one of the centres, a kind of glitch really. There are notices on the website about who is invited to book and I guess they're relying on people not to book if they don't qualify. Our nurse friend said she is not sure what happens if you turn up at a centre with an appointment but don't fit the criteria... it will be interesting to hear people's experiences... as I said, I can't believe they'd turn people away...
@Nenya, here we are, announced this morning. It’s official.
I don't know @Piglet . . Mr Nen and I have been digging around on the Net for the past day or so and he read something that seemed to say once the letters for the next batch of eligible people are being prepared it seems to release their NHS numbers so that they can book an appointment on the system at one of the centres, a kind of glitch really. There are notices on the website about who is invited to book and I guess they're relying on people not to book if they don't qualify. Our nurse friend said she is not sure what happens if you turn up at a centre with an appointment but don't fit the criteria... it will be interesting to hear people's experiences... as I said, I can't believe they'd turn people away...
@Nenya, here we are, announced this morning. It’s official.
I think relieved because it takes the edge off "What if I catch it?" even if all the other aspects of life remain the same.
Same here. Whatever it was I caught this time last year wasn’t pleasant and I’m not anxious to repeat the experience. Add to that, meds which seem to make me slightly more susceptible to respiratory infections and I’m all to aware of my vulnerability.
Getting more and more cranky, as shots drip into our metro area at a rate which will allow full vaccination in approximately 100 years. There are sensible people outright screaming in the media that our Republican governor is deliberately choking off the Democratic parts of the state (which are, not surprisingly, the urban areas). Meanwhile shots go un-used in rural areas, which are comparatively over-supplied. And those who can handle it physically or economically drive four hours to get a shot in one of those places. My Vietnamese elderly cannot do that, nor can we rent a bus because you know that would be bound to turn into a spreader event.
Same here, left the rural area where there were plenty of shots, but I did not get one because I was concerned about getting a second dose due after we moved. The rural area we left now opening up shots to teachers, people under 65, and such. Still waiting in our new urban area to even get an appointment, for both of us over 80.
This will probably only make sense to female shipmates:
The nurse today reckons that a smear test is preferable. (The swabs are very similar) I think that this was partly due to the fact that you have to stick it up your own nose. (I was having my cervical cancer screening today, hence the comparison, and she was very good.)
This will probably only make sense to female shipmates:
The nurse today reckons that a smear test is preferable. (The swabs are very similar) I think that this was partly due to the fact that you have to stick it up your own nose. (I was having my cervical cancer screening today, hence the comparison, and she was very good.)
I have no idea how one would self-administer the test in the quote below (from an NHS website last month) with or without the piece of kit mentioned by Golden Key
More than 31,000 women will be offered kits to carry out smear tests in the privacy and convenience of their own homes in a trial, NHS England has announced.
This will probably only make sense to female shipmates:
The nurse today reckons that a smear test is preferable. (The swabs are very similar) I think that this was partly due to the fact that you have to stick it up your own nose. (I was having my cervical cancer screening today, hence the comparison, and she was very good.)
I have no idea how one would self-administer the test in the quote below (from an NHS website last month) with or without the piece of kit mentioned by Golden Key
More than 31,000 women will be offered kits to carry out smear tests in the privacy and convenience of their own homes in a trial, NHS England has announced.
It’s a vaginal smear test and very easy to administer.
The sample is checked for certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV) that can cause changes to the cells of your cervix. These are called "high risk" types of HPV. If these types of HPV are found, you are called in for further tests.
Doing it to oneself doesn't sound at all easy to me. Given that I am one of those women who have to steel themselves for quite some time before going to see a very nice sympathetic female GP to get it done*, if they sent me a kit and told me to do it myself, the chances of me complying would be zero. And the evil kit would just sit there burning a hole (wherever I'd put it) and making me feel crap about myself.
*Last time I went, I admitted to said very nice GP that I'd been putting it off for ages after a traumatic childbirth. I was going to ask what traumatised you, she said. Usually it's a bad experience with a gynecologist or a difficult childbirth.
Twice weekly lateral flow tests have made it to my department at work, and I've just done my first. It was.... an experience.
One you would wish to repeat?
Whether I wish to repeat it is neither here nor there, since I'm now required to perform them twice a week.... It didn't half tickle, and make me cough & sneeze (nasal swab). As for putting a couple of drops of solution on the cartridge, my eyes were streaming so much that I could barely see the cartridge let alone count drops!
This will probably only make sense to female shipmates:
The nurse today reckons that a smear test is preferable. (The swabs are very similar) I think that this was partly due to the fact that you have to stick it up your own nose. (I was having my cervical cancer screening today, hence the comparison, and she was very good.)
Depends: if it was just a vaginal swab, agreed. If you mean the whole speculum thing, I'd rather take a lateral flow swab any day.
Also wtf can they just not start doing a blood test for hpv - I’m gay and the whole process seems to be predicated on the idea you have regular penetrative sex and/or have given birth so it all ought to be just fine. As opposed to, you know, excruciatingly painful and emotionally traumatic.
The home ‘smear’ is not a smear. The reporting (and indeed Matt Hancock’s description) has been woefully inadequate. It is a simple vaginal swab, no speculum, for HPV. As explained above, if negative, no need for a full smear, if positive then yes, you’ll still need one.
Hope that helps. And yes, as Doublethink has highlighted, a good way forward for those of us who are gay (or celibate) and so very low risk.
In terms of Covid swabs, you get used to it. After the first dozen it’s all a bit less traumatic. Can now do the swab, assemble the box and register the test in under 5 minutes!
I am sad. I had an appointment scheduled for Thursday for my first Covid vaccine shot. So yesterday, I was diagnosed with bronchitis (after having a Covid rapid test---negative!) and my doctor doesn't want me to take the chance of having any respiratory side effects on top of the symptoms I'm having now. It had been such a relief to get my appointment, and now I'm stressing a little bit wondering if I'll have to wait six or seven weeks after I'm well to find another one.
Mr Boogs and I have been vaccinated - we even got a sticker each, but no lollipop.
Is Outrage! I didn't get a lollipop, either, but I did enjoy some Jolly Banter with the booking-in ladies, one of whom was mightily amused at having to ask me if I was pregnant. Not this year, sez I, I'm having a break...
I'm so sorry @jedijudy . I hope you can book another appointment very soon.
Mr Nen and I had our vaccine letters yesterday and booked our appointments this morning. It was a bit stressful as we wanted the same place and the same time, so we sat together with two computers and it took three attempts. Appointment slots had disappeared off the screen every time we retried. Just delighted to have it on the way, though.
@jedijudy sorry you missed out, but I had side effects from the AstraZenica and would not have enjoyed bronchitis on top. My first one was Monday and I had 24 hours of temperature and feeling really grim. I'm not looking forward to the second. (I suspect it was because I had already been exposed to the virus, way back when, but no testing to prove it.)
I hear differing accounts of reactions to the vaccines, particularly the AstraZenica. They vary from 'nothing apart from a sore arm' to 'laid out feeling rough for days.' I'll be interested to hear Shipmates' experiences.
I had two very sore, sore arms and general crankiness therefore, but that was about it. A teeny tiny headache for about ten minutes.
Mr. Lamb was down with high fever and chills for a day (second shot). It was totally worth it, as in January he picked up COVID for real and was totally asymptomatic. Given his reaction to the vaccine as well as his risk factors, I think we dodged a major bullet.
My son had real COVID and had a rough time of it despite being 19. More like his father than like me, I think. I suspect a lot of the reaction to COVID or the vaccine is down to genetics. So you might ask your siblings etc. how they reacted, if they get done before you.
I hear differing accounts of reactions to the vaccines, particularly the AstraZenica. They vary from 'nothing apart from a sore arm' to 'laid out feeling rough for days.' I'll be interested to hear Shipmates' experiences.
The day after I felt sleepy and chilly. The jab itself didn’t hurt and there’s no bruise but my arm aches occasionally. No other after effects, thankfully.
Comments
Fair point, but (a) the car was parked close to the main entrance, and (b) there were 3-4 volunteers in the area who would have been available to help...I would probably have had time to shout for assistance, and they had medics on scene just in case.
No.
Our local vaccination centre is a 5 minute stagger across the local car park.
Excellent. Would somebody who knows how to organize these things please descend upon my benighted city and slap our governor around a bit?
Mr RS had the Pfizer at a GP clinic, and afterwards he had to wait for 15 minutes before being allowed to leave.
What I'd like to know now is when the clinically vulnerable cared for becomes eligible. (Clinically vulnerable people were on the last tranche, from 14 February - from here) for which she needs a letter informing her she's either clinically vulnerable or should apply. I can't book her in without evidence of either as she's too young to qualify now.
The consensus of opinion was that my local GP surgery is flaky and I should go ahead and book myself in when chatting to the other youth group leaders I'm working with (online) rather than wait. Am a very irritated carer now, it looks as if I could have booked us both in at the same time or she'd already have her first vaccine.
I had a phone call at 3.05pm on Monday "Can you get there in the next 20 - 30 mins?" After a quick change of tee shirt for one with short sleeves, I departed and was back home within the hour having had the AZ vaccine and been told to wait for 15 mins. The longest part of the whole operation with the health questionnaire/ID check. I was concerned that I was depriving some one who needed it more than me but the staff were very clear that they had some space vaccine which couldn't be used up and couldn't be kept until the following day, and they would far rather it was used by someone than it be discarded.
I felt extremely relieved, which is odd because having had the jab it doesn't make a scrap of difference re wearing face masks, socially distancing etc. I think we will be doing that for months to come, if not well into next year.
@Nenya, here we are, announced this morning. It’s official.
https://www.england.nhs.uk/2021/02/nhs-invites-people-aged-60-plus-to-get-life-saving-covid-vaccination/
Ah, that's good to see! Thank you!
Same here. Whatever it was I caught this time last year wasn’t pleasant and I’m not anxious to repeat the experience. Add to that, meds which seem to make me slightly more susceptible to respiratory infections and I’m all to aware of my vulnerability.
One you would wish to repeat?
The nurse today reckons that a smear test is preferable. (The swabs are very similar) I think that this was partly due to the fact that you have to stick it up your own nose. (I was having my cervical cancer screening today, hence the comparison, and she was very good.)
A TMI joke:
I have no idea how one would self-administer the test in the quote below (from an NHS website last month) with or without the piece of kit mentioned by Golden Key
More than 31,000 women will be offered kits to carry out smear tests in the privacy and convenience of their own homes in a trial, NHS England has announced.
It’s a vaginal smear test and very easy to administer.
The sample is checked for certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV) that can cause changes to the cells of your cervix. These are called "high risk" types of HPV. If these types of HPV are found, you are called in for further tests.
*Last time I went, I admitted to said very nice GP that I'd been putting it off for ages after a traumatic childbirth. I was going to ask what traumatised you, she said. Usually it's a bad experience with a gynecologist or a difficult childbirth.
Whether I wish to repeat it is neither here nor there, since I'm now required to perform them twice a week.... It didn't half tickle, and make me cough & sneeze (nasal swab). As for putting a couple of drops of solution on the cartridge, my eyes were streaming so much that I could barely see the cartridge let alone count drops!
Depends: if it was just a vaginal swab, agreed. If you mean the whole speculum thing, I'd rather take a lateral flow swab any day.
Hope that helps. And yes, as Doublethink has highlighted, a good way forward for those of us who are gay (or celibate) and so very low risk.
In terms of Covid swabs, you get used to it. After the first dozen it’s all a bit less traumatic. Can now do the swab, assemble the box and register the test in under 5 minutes!
I am sad. I had an appointment scheduled for Thursday for my first Covid vaccine shot. So yesterday, I was diagnosed with bronchitis (after having a Covid rapid test---negative!) and my doctor doesn't want me to take the chance of having any respiratory side effects on top of the symptoms I'm having now. It had been such a relief to get my appointment, and now I'm stressing a little bit wondering if I'll have to wait six or seven weeks after I'm well to find another one.
Is Outrage! I didn't get a lollipop, either, but I did enjoy some Jolly Banter with the booking-in ladies, one of whom was mightily amused at having to ask me if I was pregnant. Not this year, sez I, I'm having a break...
Hear, hear.
Mr Nen and I had our vaccine letters yesterday and booked our appointments this morning. It was a bit stressful as we wanted the same place and the same time, so we sat together with two computers and it took three attempts. Appointment slots had disappeared off the screen every time we retried. Just delighted to have it on the way, though.
@jedijudy , hope you’re soon recovered and that you’re able to re-book your appointment soon.
I had two very sore, sore arms and general crankiness therefore, but that was about it. A teeny tiny headache for about ten minutes.
Mr. Lamb was down with high fever and chills for a day (second shot). It was totally worth it, as in January he picked up COVID for real and was totally asymptomatic. Given his reaction to the vaccine as well as his risk factors, I think we dodged a major bullet.
My son had real COVID and had a rough time of it despite being 19. More like his father than like me, I think. I suspect a lot of the reaction to COVID or the vaccine is down to genetics. So you might ask your siblings etc. how they reacted, if they get done before you.