Coronavirus

[oddoneout]

I am puzzled as to why two vaccines are being deployed in Britain and I suspect the A-Z one has been politically contrived so that le bouffon blond can boast about ‘numbers’.

I’m in two minds about accepting the A-Z if it is offered. Frankly, I’d feel a lot safer with the Pfizer.

For an undertaking on this scale the eggs in one basket principle has a bearing, for all sorts of reasons. The more options available the better IMO, to give flexibility and adaptability not just now but in future. There is still a great deal to learn about the virus and those options may prove valuable for longer term management. Having vaccines with less challenging storage and handling requirements than the Pfizer one is also advantageous, not just in this country but also for use in those countries with infrastructure difficulties.

[Cockney Sparrow]

I am puzzled as to why two vaccines are being deployed in Britain and I suspect the A-Z one has been politically contrived so that le bouffon blond can boast about ‘numbers’.

I’m in two minds about accepting the A-Z if it is offered. Frankly, I’d feel a lot safer with the Pfizer.

I'm sure we can all bring our pre-formed opinions to this subject but I have to accept that great work by the scientists and then getting Kate Bingham, with her financial/business experience in the research and marketing of biomedical products sector has delivered the goods for this country whilst politics played on in the US and the EU took its time ensuring unity among its nations.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jan/29/we-had-to-go-it-alone-how-the-uk-got-ahead-in-the-covid-vaccine-race

From my reading, it was backing/underwriting the development and production of Astra Zeneca in particular and contracting to buy a range of vaccines because it wasn't at all sure which of them would have any effectiveness. I took the Astra Zen, gladly.

In a year or two, when maybe I'll be able to pay for a vaccination because they will be commercially available, I might enjoy the luxury of choice.

[duncan]

I am puzzled as to why two vaccines are being deployed in Britain and I suspect the A-Z one has been politically contrived so that le bouffon blond can boast about ‘numbers’.

I’m in two minds about accepting the A-Z if it is offered. Frankly, I’d feel a lot safer with the Pfizer.

The Pfizer vaccine is protective, effective and safe.
The Oxford vaccine is protective, effective, and safe.

[LHC]

I am puzzled as to why two vaccines are being deployed in Britain and I suspect the A-Z one has been politically contrived so that le bouffon blond can boast about ‘numbers’.

I’m in two minds about accepting the A-Z if it is offered. Frankly, I’d feel a lot safer with the Pfizer.

There are actually 4 vaccines approved for use in the UK. In addition to the Pfizer and AZ vaccines, we will start deploying the Moderna and Novovax vaccines as soon as supplies become available in the coming months. It is likely that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be added soon as well. The use of these additional vaccines will help us to accelerate the vaccination programme and give a vaccination to every adult by the Summer.

The AZ vaccine is now approved for use in 74 countries (more than any other vaccine), so the suggestion that it is only being used here seems wide of the mark to me. Even the EU countries that restricted its use for political reasons are now reversing those decisions, and are using it for everyone.

[duncan]

I am puzzled as to why two vaccines are being deployed in Britain and I suspect the A-Z one has been politically contrived so that le bouffon blond can boast about ‘numbers’.

I’m in two minds about accepting the A-Z if it is offered. Frankly, I’d feel a lot safer with the Pfizer.

Grammar jokes aside, the other advantage of the Oxford-AZ is it’s stability at ordinary fridge temperatures. It’s much more practical to implement in smaller centres. This is an important consideration when vaccinating harder to reach groups who may feel more comfortable in (or just find it easier to travel to) their local GP practice or church hall rather than a big centre.

What is your safety concern with the Oxford-AZ? Happy to take a DM if you’d prefer.

[teamsaint]

Grammar jokes aside, the other advantage of the Oxford-AZ is it’s stability at ordinary fridge temperatures. It’s much more practical to implement in smaller centres. This is an important consideration when vaccinating harder to reach groups who may feel more comfortable in (or just find it easier to travel to) their local GP practice or church hall rather than a big centre.

What is your safety concern with the Oxford-AZ? Happy to take a DM if you’d prefer.

There are safety issues with vaccines. That’s why they run trials. Whether those concerns are significant , or ( statistically) significant for an individual is a different matter

[oddoneout]

I don't mind which I'm given, it would be good just to get it done, having been eligible for several weeks. Travel limitations have meant the locations offered through the online booking aren't an option( much of the time they haven't even been in county) although I see today that another site has been added that's only a 40 min bus ride so I may have to do that. I was puzzled initially by some of the locations offered then realised that the straight line distances used to rank them skewed the list.
The frustration is that my GP surgery, together with several others, is using a GP practice less than 3 miles away to do their patient lists which I can either drive or bus to, but there is a very long wait (increased by the addition of another priority group); I have asked but cannot get any indication how long a wait.
I really don't fancy the 40 minutes bus ride, not least as there would be nothing else to do to make best use of the fare cost; all the things I would normally do on a visit to the city are off limits.
First world problems I realise but coupled with the assorted other health issues which I can't get dealt with currently it's a problem I could do without.

[gurnemanz]

Likewise.
I've been having a flu jab for years without knowing or particularly caring which firm manufactured it. I don't feel equipped to judge, but our son's partner is a doctor and she said she favoured AZ.

[Frances_iom]

I’m in two minds about accepting the A-Z if it is offered. Frankly, I’d feel a lot safer with the Pfizer.

I wonder if the OP is in Denmark which, as per R4 news, has put further jabs of AZ on hold whilst it investigates blood clotting in one recipient some days post injection - there was mention of a check on the purity of the specific batch. I would have thought with probably by now over 10M jabs in the UK someone would have spotted any problems.

[oddoneout]

I wonder if the OP is in Denmark which, as per R4 news, has put further jabs of AZ on hold whilst it investigates blood clotting in one recipient some days post injection - there was mention of a check on the purity of the specific batch. I would have thought with probably by now over 10M jabs in the UK someone would have spotted any problems.

Whilst not good for the individual concerned, in the context of the millions of doses administered I would consider that a pretty good vindication of vaccine safety?

[Bryn]

I am puzzled as to why two vaccines are being deployed in Britain and I suspect the A-Z one has been politically contrived so that le bouffon blond can boast about ‘numbers’.

I’m in two minds about accepting the A-Z if it is offered. Frankly, I’d feel a lot safer with the Pfizer.

Are you not concerned that Pfizer have expressed doubts about the 12-week gap? If one is looking for something to worry about, surely that would be a more appropriate place to start? For my part, I had the Pfizer/BioNTech first jab a the end of January and am quite happy to wait until the end of April for the second jab. After all, not having specifically tested for efficacy with the 12-week gap, Pfizer saw a need to cover themselves should things go wrong.

[LHC]

I wonder if the OP is in Denmark which, as per R4 news, has put further jabs of AZ on hold whilst it investigates blood clotting in one recipient some days post injection - there was mention of a check on the purity of the specific batch. I would have thought with probably by now over 10M jabs in the UK someone would have spotted any problems.

There have also been a couple of people who have developed blood clots in Austria, although as yet there is no evidence that there is any connection with the vaccine, other than that they developed the clots a few days after having received a vaccine dose. It could be simply an unfortunate coincidence, but it is right that the EMA investigates.

[Dave2002]

Are you not concerned that Pfizer have expressed doubts about the 12-week gap? If one is looking for something to worry about, surely that would be a more appropriate place to start? For my part, I had the Pfizer/BioNTech first jab a the end of January and am quite happy to wait until the end of April for the second jab. After all, not having specifically tested for efficacy with the 12-week gap, Pfizer saw a need to cover themselves should things go wrong.

OK - I had the AZ vaccine about a month ago.

One concern mentioned today is that for people who have cancer the immune response seems to be much lower with the AZ vaccine if they don't have the second injection within the shorter time period, though whether this will pick up with the booster at 12 weeks or thereabouts is presumably not yet known. The implications of this seem to be that people who are already ill with cancer should continue to take other precautions for the immediate foreseeable future, though I expect there will be more data to allow better understanding of the efficacy of this vaccine in cancer patients later on.

[johnb]

OK - I had the AZ vaccine about a month ago.

One concern mentioned today is that for people who have cancer the immune response seems to be much lower with the AZ vaccine if they don't have the second injection within the shorter time period

It is concerning.

By the way, although I might be wrong, I think that the study you are referring to mentioned the Pfizer vaccine rather than the AZ.

More details can be found here: https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/e...ncer-patients/

[Frances_iom]

Johnb - yes I too thought the study used the Pfizer but couldn't find a reference quickly enough - the good news was that the 2nd jab brought the expected response - this might well be different from the Oxford-AZ as I understand their mechanisms are somewhat different. Also interesting that the response to the 2nd jab of Pfizer produces more side effects than 1st jab whereas the 1st jab of Oxford-AZ produces more side effects than the 2nd