NWR new zero tolerance covid thread

Our clinic passed the 12 week anniversary of opening last week, so I’ve been doing lots of second vaccinations. In the conversational gap between confirming identity and jabbing the arm I’ve been making a point of asking everyone how was their reaction to their first jab. I’ve asked roughly 200 people so far, and here are my very very approximate findings, all Astra-Zeneca...

- roughly 50% have no or negligible side effects, comprising...
- roughly 30% said no noticeable side-effects at all
- a further 20% said they had a bit of a sore arm, but nothing else
- of the remaining 50%, the vast majority describe headache lasting 12-24 hours and some of these also say it felt like they had the flu. It is very common in this group for resolution of symptoms to be quite sudden, almost like a switch being flipped.
- a very small number, maybe 5 or 6 people, said they were badly effected over a period longer than 48hrs. These were all people who describe flu-like symptoms bad enough to keep them off work and in bed. Only one of these mentioned gastro-intestinal unpleasantness.

Hope this helps.
Were the worst affected people those who'd had Covid before their first jab?
 
Top tips for attending vaccine clinic...;)

In the vaccine clinic I'm working in we've moved-on to people who are more or less my age (mid 50's), and I suspect many forumites are similar and will be being jabbed soon. Soooo....

- Bring your NHS number with you - it's on your letter - it speeds-up the booking-in process. See also your contact phone number.
- Wear clothes that let us get to the top of your arm without extraordinary disrobing, huffing or puffing.
- Bring a list of any other medications you are on. Take your medication as normal. Have food/drink as normal before you come - most of the people who feel a bit light-headed after their vaccine haven't eaten or drunk that morning.
- We want to know about allergies, in particular previous reactions to medications, food etc. Don't keep this information to yourself! If you have an Epipen, bring it with you (amazing how many don't).
- Remember it's a conveyor-belt! Unless you have good reason for slowing-down the flow please just keep moving - it appears to me that half the over-50 population now self-identifies as either an epidemiologist or immunolugist and is keen to share their insights with clinic staff. I had a queue outside my room yesterday while a vaccinee expounded at length on previous vaccinations he'd had :cool::eek:. Onward!
- If you need special treatment tell us. A patient fainted in our clinic recently, no harm done but causes some alarm. Afterwards he told us he always faints after injections. We'd have treated him differently if we'd known.
- There isn't a staff coffee room in the country that isn't improved by gifts of small shareable items of snackable food. Just saying...
Thanks for this Andy, v useful. It would have been impossible for the team this morning to be smilier or more efficient than they already were, but the biscuits I brought were greatly appreciated!
 
Vaccination in Provence: They don't have the NHS, so it is a bit more anarchic, especially near Marseilles.
People have been asking for vaccination... lying about their birth date, population at risk.... they turn up when selected... and hop la, they get the jab!
Also a few people don't turn up when they change their mind.
The result is that, for Pfizer vaccine, at the end of the day, they use left overs to vaccinate people who queue there hoping they may get a jab in order to avoid wastage of doses (they still select as many people go.

I have a couple of friends down there who are pretty paranoid about the virus and went everyday to a vaccination centre, hoping to get a left over jab, so far without success as they select the more deserving

Yesterday bingo! As the word spread that one could cheat and get vaccinated, a Pfizer center yesterday called an end to the cheating and refused to vaccinate people who lied on their forms. Result: there were well over 20 doses left over at the end of the day... and my friends (62 and less) got their first injection...

And people say the French don't want to be vaccinated!...
 
I suppose that's one benefit of the NHS and being quite centralised in care delivery - it makes identifying the correct groups far easier. I gather Germany has struggled with this, and predictably the US has a pretty scattergun approach. Friends of mine in their 20s have had their vaccines in California, for example.
 
I think a sizeable percentage of the population have been scared witless with regard to the ‘risks‘ of mingling and mixing with others and will continue to avoid contact.
 
I'd be surprised Tom - a few will, as they always do, but I think the vast majority will take careful, responsible steps forward. Call me an optimist for once.
I agree. There will be a small minority that go crazy, maybe 10%? I'd be at least as concerned about the leaky borders allowing more nasty variants in than mixing of those already here. Unfortunately, the harshness of the hotel prison scheme will encourage people to go to devious ways to avoid such interference in their lives.
 
I guess that those that have been vaccinated might take risks.
If indeed there are still meaningful risks out there for those who have had the jab. I think at least one dose is supposed to provide a significant degree of protection from hospitalisation etc. (whether Pfizer or AZ) although some will have had both.
 
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I guess that those that have been vaccinated might take risks.
Hmmm. That’s a big “maybe“. I can’t believe that there would be too many of an age range from 50 to say 80 who have had a first inoculation (and who comprise the vast majority of those who have had any inoculations) who wouldn’t realise that it only gives them some protection rather than its total possible protection and would then go mad as a result. That’s even before factoring in the already identified compliance by that group with “the rules” that we have been generally living with for the last year or so.

Nah, actually I think you’re completely wrong in this assertion/speculation Alex.
 
Hmmm. That’s a big “maybe“. I can’t believe that there would be too many of an age range from 50 to say 80 who have had a first inoculation (and who comprise the vast majority of those who have had any inoculations) who wouldn’t realise that it only gives them some protection rather than its total possible protection and would then go mad as a result. That’s even before factoring in the already identified compliance by that group with “the rules” that we have been generally living with for the last year or so.

Nah, actually I think you’re completely wrong in this assertion/speculation Alex.
Definitely more of a speculation than an assertion!
However, around here, I would say that those I've seen flouting the rules (slightly) have been getting on a bit. But they were only minor breaches, and everyone around here is a bit on the old side!
 
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Here in Comunidad Valenciana I am not expecting my vaccination until end of May / early June. They are only just about to start with the over 70's here. As I have private medical insurance I had to register in the state health system for a temporary health card, that took two appointments and over an hour and a half this morning. Never mind at least it's a small step forward.
 
My sister and my brother in law are pharmacists in the Loire and received their AZ doses last week to administer to patients.
On Friday, they vaccinated a 70 years old lady with conditions. She passed away yesterday as it seems she did not take well the vaccine. This is indeed a very rare case... but it is a different story when you know well the person and have injected her 2 days earlier... My brother in law is a bit shocked... We got our AZ jab and are allright.
Our neighbour, a British lady, told her yesterday she would not get vaccinated (around 60) as she has allergies and is scared...
 
German cities and Canada now again stop giving AZ vaccine to under 60/55 yo.
The new development is based on a cluster of new blood clot cases from mostly women under 60. Previously there were 7 cases out of 1.7 million doses of AZ vaccine, but now it has raised to 31 out of 2.6 million, 9 have died. Both the accurance and death rate (if happens) are much higher than backgroud and common average of this kind of illness.
It is puzzling why there is no such report from UK where more than 13 million doses of AZ has been given. Even we know UK started vaccination from older people, there are already quite many people under 60s got AZ vaccine.
Since Europe is now facing a new wave of infection, in public health sense it is still more beneficial to receive vaccine if one is with higher risk (men, older age, etc), unless there is enough supply of other vaccine. However, the apparent risk increase should be investigated thoroughly.

To Antonie: Do you have any idea what's the cause of that 70 lady's issue? This blood clot problem (vaccine-induced prothrombotic immune thrombocytopenia) can be quite dangerous but I think it's mostly, if not all, happening on people under 65. All other side effects from vaccine should not be lethal except serious allergy, but that should be rather quick and treatable.
 
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