Coronavirus

[Serial_Apologist]

Yes, anyone putting across a blunt / personal / highly critical opinion is destined to be shuffled off in quick order - the virtual panic can be heard in the presenter's voice as (I presume) the producer is shouting over the earpiece.......

Another device I've noted recently (not that I can muster the interest to tune in every week) is to set - ok, engage - one caller against another - Lahd di Dah,retired usually, captain of industry against some not so sharp person who ends up not disagreeing that much. Fills the air time. I often find the responses depressing - a reflection of the overall views of my fellow voters who are returning those who have power over us - in particular the present lot.

I remember welcoming phone-ins as a useful form of vox pops, when it started; I'm now wondering if the medium encourages people of a certain profile, eager to demonstrate their time-hogging tendencies to demonstrate the freedom they feel we would all be privileged to share with them, were they not to act as if they own the supermarket as they pack their bags and desultorily faff around vaguely trying to find their banking card at the check out while, in the queue, we patiently give thought to our melting ice cream.

[Dave2002]

This article straddles several themes - USA, coronavirus etc. I'll stick it here - https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-...s-really-like/

Dr Fauci - seemingly gaining more authority again, though being very careful about not criticising everyone. I've not seen the NY Times article, but I bet it'll be similar.

[Dave2002]

Contacts ...

A discussion with a friend this afternoon - a few more people have been vaccinated.

However, an observation. If over 70s and over 80s are high priority groups, then perhaps text messages and emails aren't a good way to contact them.

I know - it depends. Some people have phones on all the time, even if they are septuagenarians, but others turn them off when they're not using them, or even forget to charge them. One such person just happened to notice he'd not used his phone for a while, so started to charge it up, but then realised that he'd got a text message about a jab - with virtually no time to get to the hospital.

He did set off, arriving quite some time after the set appointment, and explained the situation. "No problem" - they said, and gave him his injection. So alls well, etc.

Meanwhile in Scotland the government decided that to speed things up it would sent out invites and appointments in blue envelopes, so that the post people would prioritise them, and people would know - or at least have some inkling - of what might be inside.

Good plan - except that then they discovered they couldn't get blue envelopes, so reverted back to white, and have had to publicise this just in case people don't notice when they have been offered an appointment.

[teamsaint]

A discussion with a friend this afternoon - a few more people have been vaccinated.

However, an observation. If over 70s and over 80s are high priority groups, then perhaps text messages and emails aren't a good way to contact them.

I know - it depends. Some people have phones on all the time, even if they are septuagenarians, but others turn them off when they're not using them, or even forget to charge them. One such person just happened to notice he'd not used his phone for a while, so started to charge it up, but then realised that he'd got a text message about a jab - with virtually no time to get to the hospital.

He did set off, arriving quite some time after the set appointment, and explained the situation. "No problem" - they said, and gave him his injection. So alls well, etc.

Meanwhile in Scotland the government decided that to speed things up it would sent out invites and appointments in blue envelopes, so that the post people would prioritise them, and people would know - or at least have some inkling - of what might be inside.

Good plan - except that then they discovered they couldn't get blue envelopes, so reverted back to white, and have had to publicise this just in case people don't notice when they have been offered an appointment.

Don’t most GPs have established contact routes to individual patients? Mine constantly text me about things I have no interest in. I presume that is how they will contact me in due course.
Given the financial incentives to vaccinate people I would imagine the admin staff will be making calls where necessary.

I will be interested to see how practices try to “ encourage” refusers.

[french frank]

Don’t most GPs have established contact routes to individual patients?

I think that must be so. I get non urgent text messages, but they ring me on my landline because I told them I don't use the mobile as a phone and don't carry it about with me everywhere. My brother got a letter. My 70+ cousin got a text message.

[oddoneout]

When my GP surgery was checking contact details a couple of years ago they wanted my mobile number, even though I explained it was hardly ever on, so that they could send routine text messages, with landline being used for anything more immediate. I forget what the response was to using email, but they don't, or haven't so far, not even for covid matters as they affect the surgery.

[Bryn]

When my GP surgery was checking contact details a couple of years ago they wanted my mobile number, even though I explained it was hardly ever on, so that they could send routine text messages, with landline being used for anything more immediate. I forget what the response was to using email, but they don't, or haven't so far, not even for covid matters as they affect the surgery.

Yes, my local practice also avoids email contact. Still, at least text messages get stored for access for a good while. I cancelled my landline well over a decade ago.

[Dave2002]

I think that must be so. I get non urgent text messages, but they ring me on my landline because I told them I don't use the mobile as a phone and don't carry it about with me everywhere. My brother got a letter. My 70+ cousin got a text message.

An added complication, since initiating this latest burst about contact details - my "trusty" mobile, which was the one I initially told the GP surgery about, now seems to be developing a fault. The screen isn't showing up well, so perhaps this is now a terminal condition. If it doesn't "come back" soon, I may have to abandon that one. I suppose I could put the SIM card in another mobile - or put in a new SIM card in another working mobile, and somehow get the number transferred. Otherwise I'll have to go through the relatively short list of "important" contacts - dentist, doctor etc. and notify them of any change of number arising from a change of mobile phone.

I don't want to miss out on a vaccine shot - or contribute to a statistic of anti-vaxxers due to a technical failure.

[Bryn]

My understanding is that everybody considered eligible for vaccination will be contacted by the NHS via Royal Mail.

[Dave2002]

My understanding is that everybody considered eligible for vaccination will be contacted by the NHS via Royal Mail.

I think that is correct, though the Scottish attempt to put the letters into blue envelopes, which has currently stalled, was intended to reduce the likelihood that mail would go missing, or would be discarded as junk mail by the recipients. Tossing junk mail, or just not bothering to read mail as it comes in, may be a common behaviour amongst some older people.

[Bryn]

. . . Tossing junk mail, or just not bothering to read mail as it comes in, may be a common behaviour amongst some older people.

Count me in, on the first part of that.

[Frances_iom]

I was phoned (on a landline as I have no working mobile) at 5pm on Tues and offered an appointment at 9.06 on following Thursday - my guess re times was the 10 station local centre, within 15min walk of my house, was running with 6min/jab which was about right as questioned re medical history + what drugs I was on - I'd had the forethought to bring a recent prescription so that bit was easy + it also contained the all important NHS number you need to quote.

My GP also doesn't use email but I complained as neither do they answer the phone (you are fifth in the queue is standard + 15mins later still not answered) + their web access is poor, exceedingly tedious to use, and offloaded to some ?commercial organisation - I now have an email that should work during 9-5 weekdays but as yet haven't used it - being within walking distance my approach was to walk round with a note and stick it in the letter box marked specimens but living alone I don't expect even to be discovered until the smell attracts attention if things go bad.

[Richard Barrett]

I wonder if there is enough here for a separate thread - fantasy FoR3 "Dad's army"; fantasy FoR3 football teams / Match of the Day. No doubt a lot of others. Whilst digression and OT are proud traditions, perhaps this isn't the Topic for a Thread where it would go much further?

Like which composer would make the best Dr Who? (Ligeti, obviously.) (Also, Bruckner and Davros were obviously separated at birth.)

Meanwhile, in this poor and backward corner of Europe, mass vaccination is well under way. You can either wait for the call, or queue up at the clinic to be fitted in between the scheduled appointments. OH and I turned up at 9 on Monday morning, and at 10.30 we were out again, duly jabbed, with the second dose scheduled. Even with a corrupt right wing government in power, such things are possible.

[Cockney Sparrow]

Locally, our GPs are running the one centre in the (small) city and say our GP practices will call up recipients:
"We will use a variety of communication methods including phone calls, text messages and letters, in line with the contact details we hold for patients, to invite you in"

Maybe the GP's system has a marker for "doesn't answer the phone, hasn't got a mobile or voice message facility, throws away letters unread......." In a pandemic emergency, that might result in a policy "move on to the next patient and wait for this person to contact us......."

[DracoM]

Is it fair to say that most of the Govt's 'helpines' etc for Covid and communications on other aspects of our life are ALL predicated on the [ IMO] dodgy and possibly totally erroneous assumption that EVERYONIE has - of course - access to a mobile phone in UK? i.e. can text, receive text, be traced by.............phone