Coronavirus

[vinteuil]

.

... for what it's worth, I had the astrazeneca twelve days ago - no side effects at all. Most of my friends who have had the astrazeneca have had no side effects ; the few who have had such said they were mild, similar to those following a flu vaccine.

As LHC indicated above, we were free to depart immediately - unless we were planning to drive, in the which case people were asked to wait for fifteen minutes.

[LHC]

It seems that side effects are relatively common after either jab.

According to the ZOE COVID study around one in seven people experienced at least one side effect after the Pfizer jab, and that one in four experienced pain or swelling in their arm. Most symptoms happen in the first two days after vaccination, with headache, fatigue and chills or shivers being the most common. They don’t have similar information for the AZ yet, but it seems they are reasonably common for AZ as well.

[johnb]

I am 75 and had the first dose of the AZ vaccine 22 days ago.

The only side effect I had (if you can call it a side effect) is that I felt slightly "muzzy" later that day, but that could be coincidental.

I guess that vaccines affect people in different ways and what tends to be reported in media (social and mainstream) are the relatively small number of people who have more noticeable side effects.

Yes there are "reports of the AZ vaccine not being suitable for the over 65's and public reluctance to have it in France and Germany", as Petrushka says, but you have to dig a little deeper to investigate why (little Phase 23 trial data for the over 55s, initial (and provisional) reports concerning the South African variant and the EU having messed up its vaccine procurement).

The AZ Phase 3 trial was conducted in a less than ideal manner (see the FT article "How AstraZeneca’s vaccine was hit by flawed trials, defects and politics — but might still save the world"), which is probably why some regulators have been waiting for further data to emerge. However, there is no indications that the vaccine is anything other than beneficial.

Sure, if I had the choice between the Pfizer and AZ I would go for the Pfizer. Not because the AZ is unsafe in any way but because the Pfizer has a higher efficacy. Having said that I am very happy to have received the AZ vaccine.

Even though three weeks have now elapsed I can't see being vaccinated changing my behaviour very much.

[LHC]

I am 75 and had the first dose of the AZ vaccine 22 days ago.

The only side effect I had (if you can call it a side effect) is that I felt slightly "muzzy" later that day, but that could be coincidental.

I guess that vaccines affect people in different ways and what tends to be reported in media (social and mainstream) are the relatively small number of people who have more noticeable side effects.

Yes there are "reports of the AZ vaccine not being suitable for the over 65's and public reluctance to have it in France and Germany", as Petrushka says, but you have to dig a little deeper to investigate why (little Phase 23 trial data for the over 55s, initial (and provisional) reports concerning the South African variant and the EU having messed up its vaccine procurement).

The AZ Phase 3 trial was conducted in a less than ideal manner (see the FT article "How AstraZeneca’s vaccine was hit by flawed trials, defects and politics — but might still save the world"), which is probably why some regulators have been waiting for further data to emerge. However, there is no indications that the vaccine is anything other than beneficial.

Sure, if I had the choice between the Pfizer and AZ I would go for the Pfizer. Not because the AZ is unsafe in any way but because the Pfizer has a higher efficacy. Having said that I am very happy to have received the AZ vaccine.

Even though three weeks have now elapsed I can't see being vaccinated changing my behaviour very much.

I understand that the real world data coming back from the vaccination programmes suggests that efficacy is actually fairly similar for Pfizer and AZ.

I also saw a report (unfortunately I can’t now find it) that efficacy may be slightly overstated in the Pfizer and Moderna trials as they only followed up with volunteers who had symptomatic cases, whereas AZ also tested for non-symptomatic cases. If that is the case, it could explain why AZ’s trials showed a lower efficacy, as they would have picked up more cases in their testing.

[Dave2002]

I overheard one of the volunteers say that they didn’t have to do this when they were using the AZ vaccine, and that people could leave immediately, so those days were much faster to run.

It doesn't automatically follow that processing would be faster without the 15 minute wait time. We had the AZ, and since we drove there, we were told to wait 15 minutes in our car ouside the surgery, and to sound the horn if we had any problems. Then leave.

I suppose if halls are use, and there is an issue with social distancing, then processing would be slower, but if there is space to wait, then it doesn't make too much difference - apart from the end of the shift.

We were still advised to wait even with the AZ vaccine. Throughput looked pretty fast to me - perhaps one every 1-4 minutes with several people doing the jabs.

[johnb]

Apologies for musing once again about the charts I posted in #5076.

I had assumed that the bulk of the vaccines had been administered to people over 70, therefore it was reasonable to compare the rates of decline between people under 70 with those over 70.

However, I've been exploring vaccination data on the NHS website (I know, I know - a sad case) and it turns out that approximately 40% of first dose vaccines have gone to people under 70 and this has been the case as far back as 7th January. Presumably, until very recently, the majority of the recipients who are under 70 have been the vulnerable and healthcare workers, groups who might well have otherwise been over represented in hospital admissions and, indeed, deaths.

This makes the comparisons much more complicated (and also makes my head hurt).

[LeMartinPecheur]

Vaccines and moving house

The LMPs are poised to move house from Cornwall to Shropshire. Exchange of contracts any day now, completion we hope before 31/3, but who knows with the current mad rush of stamp duty avoiders

We've just had our letters inviting us to attend down here for our first jab - we are both in the 65-70 bracket. We are worried because we'll almost certainly - please God! - have moved before Cornwall NHS can give us our second shots. But we feel that it would be good to get these first shots ASAP for max. protection in these difficult interactive circumstances rather than waiting for both shots upcountry.

We are obviously concerned that the ends tie up on this - that we can get our second shots in Salop and presumably(?) of the same vaccine. Our GP practice isn't taking calls or emails about jabs at all so we haven't been able to get any answers. Long shot I know but has anyone else grappled with this situation?

[LHC]

The LMPs are poised to move house from Cornwall to Shropshire. Exchange of contracts any day now, completion we hope before 31/3, but who knows with the current mad rush of stamp duty avoiders

We've just had our letters inviting us to attend down here for our first jab - we are both in the 65-70 bracket. We are worried because we'll almost certainly - please God! - have moved before Cornwall NHS can give us our second shots. But we feel that it would be good to get these first shots ASAP for max. protection in these difficult interactive circumstances rather than waiting for both shots upcountry.

We are obviously concerned that the ends tie up on this - that we can get our second shots in Salop and presumably(?) of the same vaccine. Our GP practice isn't taking calls or emails about jabs at all so we haven't been able to get any answers. Long shot I know but has anyone else grappled with this situation?

No experience to draw on, but I would suggest that when you register with your new GP, you take your vaccination cards with you, so that your new GP can include you in the schedule for second doses, and make sure it is the same as your first. In any case, your NHS record should include information about your vaccinations.

[oddoneout]

The LMPs are poised to move house from Cornwall to Shropshire. Exchange of contracts any day now, completion we hope before 31/3, but who knows with the current mad rush of stamp duty avoiders

We've just had our letters inviting us to attend down here for our first jab - we are both in the 65-70 bracket. We are worried because we'll almost certainly - please God! - have moved before Cornwall NHS can give us our second shots. But we feel that it would be good to get these first shots ASAP for max. protection in these difficult interactive circumstances rather than waiting for both shots upcountry.

We are obviously concerned that the ends tie up on this - that we can get our second shots in Salop and presumably(?) of the same vaccine. Our GP practice isn't taking calls or emails about jabs at all so we haven't been able to get any answers. Long shot I know but has anyone else grappled with this situation?

Perhaps get in touch with the Clinical Commissioning Group, as they are handling the vaccine rollout? There appear to be two in Shropshire https://www.telfordccg.nhs.uk/ and https://www.shropshireccg.nhs.uk/contact-us/ Which one is relevant would depend on whereabouts in Shropshire you will be, although either should be able to help with your query I would have thought.

[LezLee]

No experience to draw on, but I would suggest that when you register with your new GP, you take your vaccination cards with you, so that your new GP can include you in the schedule for second doses, and make sure it is the same as your first. In any case, your NHS record should include information about your vaccinations.

I have read that all the GP administered vaccines are AstraZeneca.

[teamsaint]

I have read that all the GP administered vaccines are AstraZeneca.

My mum had Pfizer at a GP run centre .

[LHC]

My mum had Pfizer at a GP run centre .

My partner’s Pfizer vaccine was administered at a site being run by the local commissioning group, but the invitation to book a slot came from the GP.

[burning dog]

My mum had Pfizer at a GP run centre .

A work colleague had the Pfizer at a GP run centre. It is a large facility though and younger locals have been called in in the evening so as not to waste any.

[french frank]

My mum had Pfizer at a GP run centre .

I'm not clear what the exact definition of "GP-run' is. I had Pfizer at a nearby health centre (which is about 20 minutes walk away from mine) where the vaccination was administered by one of my own practice's GPs. We only have 10 GPs and they have 21, so the practice site is a lot bigger but I suppose it would be called 'GP-run' like ours.

[burning dog]

GP run sites contact people through texts or phone calls from their GP. I think ten or so practices are using ours. The Government contact through letter and guide you towards a large hub. You can still wait for a GP contact if you get a Gov't letter first as the GP centre will often be more convenient.