Covid - coming out of Lockdown 3 - no politics, less opinion and more facts and information.

[Nearholmer]

2 hours ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

Very variable service is certainly impacting on take-up

I wonder if it’s a “luck of the draw” thing, whereby slots are opened in batches, and if you just happen to search immediately before a new lot are opened locally, then it sends you to the nearest available ……. Even if it’s miles away.

 

IMO this started slowly because not enough fanfare was made about it. Sometime a couple of weeks back, it dawned that at the rate it was going, and with the background case rate still so high, we were heading for an “oh sh1t!” moment, and since then it has been given the prominence and attention it needs.

[3rd Rail Exile]

I had been waiting to be contacted by my GP surgery for my booster in the same manner that I was contacted for my first two doses - it's exactly a week before 6 months is up from the date of my second jab, but I've not heard anything yet.  

 

However, given the recent exhortations to get the booster done, rather than keep waiting I've just gone online and booked a booster jab for later this week (180 days since my second jab) at a centre which is a 10 mile drive away (rather than 20 minutes walk).  Marginally more inconvenient, but at least I know I've got it booked!  No doubt my GP surgery will now be in touch imminently... 

 

All of which is a long-winded way of suggesting that the low initial take-up may be due to people waiting to be contacted (as it seemed to work well for the first two jabs), rather than pro-actively booking...

[Nearholmer]

Yes. Until a few days ago, the booking website actually told one to wait to be contacted.

[Neil]

The BBC ran this piece about anti-vax protesters intimidating children at the school gates on the One O'clock News today. Absolutely despicable.

[john new]

6 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

I wonder if it’s a “luck of the draw” thing, whereby slots are opened in batches, and if you just happen to search immediately before a new lot are opened locally, then it sends you to the nearest available ……. Even if it’s miles away.

 

IMO this started slowly because not enough fanfare was made about it. Sometime a couple of weeks back, it dawned that at the rate it was going, and with the background case rate still so high, we were heading for an “oh sh1t!” moment, and since then it has been given the prominence and attention it needs.

Possibly, we are booked in now via the on-line system (Dorchester the nearest pharmacy centre is 12 miles away whereas last time it was Weymouth = 5) but we could have got earlier slots in Bournemouth, Yeovil or Exeter! All three an hour or more each way driving, almost all day by bus - train line to Yeovil/Exeter shut for engineering. 

 

As for actually making a booking - one date we could have made around other commitments was showing limited slots but filled up between clicking that date and getting the time slots screen up. Easy to use but obviously a very busy system.

 

Nothing yet from local surgery despite my being in one of the classed as vulnerable bands.

 

Edited November 8, 2021 by john new
Bad wording.

[Jonboy]

My mother in law gave up trying to ask her surgery and got a walk in at a regional centre.

 

I believe the problem is our local gp’s are now concentrating on their other backlogs, rather than the boosters at this point,

[DaveF]

I received a text from my surgery on 22nd October, I booked an apointment for 8.18a.m. on Saturday 30th October.

 

I left home at 8a.m., was jabbed at 8.10, allowed to leave at 8.25 and was back home by 8.30.

 

There were three people giving injections, meaning that the overall rate was a bit more than one a minute.

 

It was very well organised with a one way system through the building.

 

People were arriving at a steady rate so there was no waiting.

 

Mum who is housebound had both her flu and Covid done by the district nurse on the previous day.

David

Edited November 8, 2021 by DaveF

[hayfield]

On the London local news yesterday the BBC had a report on both the booster take up and vaccine take up in London

 

The booster take up was going very well with a high take up, sadly still over a million who are eligible to be vaccinated are unvaccinated. The NHS are very worried about this group and the possible adverse affects of high infections in this group this winter 

[Hobby]

20 hours ago, 3rd Rail Exile said:

I had been waiting to be contacted by my GP surgery for my booster in the same manner that I was contacted for my first two doses - it's exactly a week before 6 months is up from the date of my second jab, but I've not heard anything yet.  

 

 

My email from the NHS came roughly a week after my six months were up so there's plenty of time... It's not as if it stops working once the six months is up, a few days here or there won't make much difference.

[Hobby]

1 minute ago, hayfield said:

The NHS are very worried about this group and the possible adverse affects of high infections in this group this winter 

 

One of those times when i really wish the NHS could refuse treatment for Covid if they got it, or at the very least charge the b****rs!

[hayfield]

15 hours ago, Neil said:

The BBC ran this piece about anti-vax protesters intimidating children at the school gates on the One O'clock News today. Absolutely despicable.

 

On the local BBC TV news last night. Something should be done about these people picking on schools and affecting the children. These actions are both bad for democracy and could lead to restrictions on demonstrations

 

I am all for peoples right to demonstrate, however with that right comes responsibilities.  Attacking children is definitely crosses the line, as does ignoring injunctions. In the end freedoms will be reduced 

 

[3rd Rail Exile]

21 hours ago, 3rd Rail Exile said:

I had been waiting to be contacted by my GP surgery for my booster in the same manner that I was contacted for my first two doses - it's exactly a week before 6 months is up from the date of my second jab, but I've not heard anything yet.  

 

However, given the recent exhortations to get the booster done, rather than keep waiting I've just gone online and booked a booster jab for later this week (180 days since my second jab) at a centre which is a 10 mile drive away (rather than 20 minutes walk).  Marginally more inconvenient, but at least I know I've got it booked!  No doubt my GP surgery will now be in touch imminently... 

 

All of which is a long-winded way of suggesting that the low initial take-up may be due to people waiting to be contacted (as it seemed to work well for the first two jabs), rather than pro-actively booking...

 

Well my GP surgery has now been in contact to say that there are no appointments to book at the local centre in the Civic Hall, and not to contact the practice about a booster unless you are housebound.  The message does then say that they are keen to encourage all eligible patients to take up a booster, and directs them to the national NHS booking website...

[hayfield]

 

I very much got this impression from our health centre. Its a business with 2 other practices, which I have no problem with and they are only now serving their own patients and seemingly in a limited way.

 

I chatted with the pharmacist whilst being jabbed and I said I got the impression my health centre were not that interested in this roll out. As I assumed they could earn more doing the day to day normal duties. The pharmacist replied the fees were quite low for the vaccinations. Though it may well be that they were putting their normal activities before the booster program, which may well be a better use of their resources. If so they should tell their patients  

[3rd Rail Exile]

12 minutes ago, hayfield said:

 

I very much got this impression from our health centre. Its a business with 2 other practices, which I have no problem with and they are only now serving their own patients and seemingly in a limited way.

 

I chatted with the pharmacist whilst being jabbed and I said I got the impression my health centre were not that interested in this roll out. As I assumed they could earn more doing the day to day normal duties. The pharmacist replied the fees were quite low for the vaccinations. Though it may well be that they were putting their normal activities before the booster program, which may well be a better use of their resources. If so they should tell their patients  

Agree it's probably a communication issue - if they're not doing boosters because there's adequate other capacity (reasonably) locally, then they ought to say so.  In the case of my GP surgery, having sent a message a couple of months ago effectively saying "don't call us about the booster, we'll call you", to now say "please go elsewhere" doesn't come across particularly well - I'm sure it could be better explained.  

Edited November 9, 2021 by 3rd Rail Exile

[APOLLO]

My six months and 1 week is due 12 Nov. I went on the NHS website on Saturday PM and booked my third jab locally, no problem. Appointment is next Tuesday. Can't book wife yet, here date is 11 Dec so I will wait a couple of weeks and try again.

 

The system works (for me at least).

 

Brit15

[john new]

16 hours ago, john new said:

Possibly, we are booked in now via the on-line system (Dorchester the nearest pharmacy centre is 12 miles away whereas last time it was Weymouth = 5) but we could have got earlier slots in Bournemouth, Yeovil or Exeter! All three an hour or more each way driving, almost all day by bus - train line to Yeovil/Exeter shut for engineering. 

 

As for actually making a booking - one date we could have made around other commitments was showing limited slots but filled up between clicking that date and getting the time slots screen up. Easy to use but obviously a very busy system.

 

Nothing yet from local surgery despite my being in one of the classed as vulnerable bands.

 

My wife and I have now both got our text messages saying go on-line to book. Slight oddity, my wife is alphabetically after me, is a year younger and not as vulnerable but her text message came yesterday evening, mine about a minute ago. (Actually made me change what I was typing here). All down to their algorithm I guess.

[Neil]

From the BBC, case numbers soaring in Germany and experts are worried that a fourth wave could lead to a very high number of fatalities.

 

Also of interest is the interactive chart part way down which allows a comparison to be made between countries. Got to say that the UK doesn't fare particularly well which is a bit worrying when the notion that it's all over seems to be fairly prevalent.

 

Locally, Covid passes will now be required if visiting the cinema or theatre, which is an upping of the precautionary measures here.

[Jonboy]

On 09/11/2021 at 09:33, 3rd Rail Exile said:

 

Well my GP surgery has now been in contact to say that there are no appointments to book at the local centre in the Civic Hall, and not to contact the practice about a booster unless you are housebound.  The message does then say that they are keen to encourage all eligible patients to take up a booster, and directs them to the national NHS booking website...

The walk in I mentioned the MIL getting above was at the Kassam Stadium.

[3rd Rail Exile]

1 hour ago, Jonboy said:

The walk in I mentioned the MIL getting above was at the Kassam Stadium.

 

That's where I'm booked in to be going tomorrow lunchtime...

[Hobby]

2 hours ago, Neil said:

From the BBC, case numbers soaring in Germany and experts are worried that a fourth wave could lead to a very high number of fatalities.

 

Also of interest is the interactive chart part way down which allows a comparison to be made between countries. Got to say that the UK doesn't fare particularly well which is a bit worrying when the notion that it's all over seems to be fairly prevalent.

 

 

Really? That's not what I see, plenty of people still wearing masks and keeping distance... Just a personal observation, mind, just like yours... This perhaps is a better read on the UK rather than just looking at those stats in that article:

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59179219

 

At the end he says this, which perhaps summarises the situation the best:

 

"It's an extremely complex picture and very hard to predict what is going to happen"

 

 

 

 

What's much more relevant to highlight in that article is this comment:

 

"Germany's health minister has publicly blamed those people for the soaring cases, describing the current situation as a "pandemic of the unvaccinated"."

 

Which, I'd suggest is much closer to the mark for both (all?) countries than my or your personal observations which are mere snapshots in time.

Edited November 10, 2021 by Hobby

[Nearholmer]

The trouble with the “pandemic among the unvaccinated” language, true as it is, is that it conveys the impression that it is wholly or very largely the unvaccinated who get seriously ill, and die from it. But, for all the numerical reasons that we’ve discussed at length before, that isn’t the case, certainly not in the U.K. in the recent past - deaths have been predominantly among the fully-vaccinated elderly, caught in a fog of the virus while their vaccine-cover is declining.  
 

Hopefully, the booster campaign will top-up the protection of the fully vaccinated, and the “school wave” will continue to decline, reducing the density of the fog. If those things do happen, the elderly will be in a better place, and those really exposed will be the middle-aged unvaccinated. About 1:5 people 40-55yo are still not fully vaccinated where I live, many of whom have caught it, or will catch it, from their children.
 

The middle-aged are a large proportion of the population, so even small % numbers becoming seriously ill will translate into large absolute numbers, and I think that may be happening at the moment locally, as is suggested by this graph.

 

[Hroth]

Just had my Pfizer "booster" jab. The local vaccination centre was well attended when I presented myself, so there must be some folk paying attention to government pleas to get booster shots!

 

Unlike 1 and 2, its had an effect on me to the extent that I felt rather lethargic a few hours afterwards, and I spent most of the afternoon and early evening dozing...

[hayfield]

12 hours ago, Hobby said:

 

 

Really? That's not what I see, plenty of people still wearing masks and keeping distance... Just a personal observation, mind, just like yours... This perhaps is a better read on the UK rather than just looking at those stats in that article:

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59179219

 

At the end he says this, which perhaps summarises the situation the best:

 

"It's an extremely complex picture and very hard to predict what is going to happen"

 

 

 

 

What's much more relevant to highlight in that article is this comment:

 

"Germany's health minister has publicly blamed those people for the soaring cases, describing the current situation as a "pandemic of the unvaccinated"."

 

Which, I'd suggest is much closer to the mark for both (all?) countries than my or your personal observations which are mere snapshots in time.

 

I seem to have noticed much the same as you.

 

Firstly I watched the news bulletin/report about the issues in Germany and the worst affected area has the lowest vaccine. They also have had higher infection rates than us yesterday even though we tested 5 times more than they did

 

Secondly what is happening in the Northern European states concurs with an earlier report about our own earlier spike, simply the UK came out of restrictions earlier, therefore the effects of easing restrictions were felt here earlier. However the southern European countries are fairing much better. Looking at overall death rates per million of population southern European states are within 10% of our own. What stands out is the difference between Holland and Belgium where there is a wide variation between similar countries

 

Certainly in the UK infection rates have been falling for a couple of weeks, there are also early signs that hospital admissions are starting to fall, lets hope deaths follow

 

Locally  things are getting much better, lowering rates of both infections and hospitalizations.

 

As for the higher death rates for older folk, we are getting in to the time of year where respiratory illnesses take their toll. Clearly those most at risk should take extra care  

[Neil]

15 hours ago, Neil said:

.... which is a bit worrying when the notion that it's all over seems to be fairly prevalent. ....

 

13 hours ago, Hobby said:

 

 

Really? That's not what I see, plenty of people still wearing masks and keeping distance... Just a personal observation, mind, just like yours...

 

Not really my observation (I haven't really ventured outside my own small town for a good while) but a summing up of what has been reported by others here and across a range of media. While attitudes across society aren't easily quantifiable, that a significant number remain unvaccinated and that booster take up is having to be pushed does hint at a public less concerned about Covid than it has been. 

[hayfield]

7 minutes ago, Neil said:

 

 

Not really my observation (I haven't really ventured outside my own small town for a good while) but a summing up of what has been reported by others here and across a range of media. While attitudes across society aren't easily quantifiable, that a significant number remain unvaccinated and that booster take up is having to be pushed does hint at a public less concerned about Covid than it has been. 

 

Niel

 

I think there is now a general acceptance that we have to get on with it now. This will mean different things to different people. I don't wear a mask when going into the local Co-oP (not many do now), but where asked (Morrisons etc) I will wear one.

 

Tonight we are first going to Hyde hall for a light show in the garden followed by a meal out, I doubt if may if any will be wearing masks in the pub/restaurant. Mask wearing I play it by ear.