Coronavirus (Covid19) Corner

[Big Kev]

Two, if we change the scheduling we must monitor the vaccinated individuals carefully, in real time, not just in retrospect, so we can intervene if anything seems to going wrong. I hope the government understands this.

I'd have my doubts...

[Tizer]

Unfortunately I have to agree. I can't see the Chief Buffoon and his tribe understanding any of it.

[Stanley]

I agree with you Ken about having no problem becoming a professional recluse.
I also agree with you Peter about testing people before and after they arrive in the country. It makes so much sense.

[Whyperion]

There was a long discussion about the vaccination scheduling on Radio 4 `Inside Science' yesterday with two experts. I found it complicated and too much to take in - it should have been kept shorter. But I got two take away messages at the end. One, the vaccine development and manufacture has been fantastic and we can be proud of it and we should be very wary of b*ggering it all up by changing schedules at the last minute with insufficient evidence. Two, if we change the scheduling we must monitor the vaccinated individuals carefully, in real time, not just in retrospect, so we can intervene if anything seems to going wrong. I hope the government understands this.

Mum wonders if the queues of older people outside medical centres awaiting their jab time are a sensible thing for spreading or otherwise disease

[Stanley]

I'm sure you all saw the latest infection figures and the consequences last night.
If possible I shall be intensifying my shielding. If I understand correctly the rise is set to continue. The current phrase seems to be 'baked in'.

[Stanley]

I'm sure you all saw the latest infection figures and the consequences last night.
If possible I shall be intensifying my shielding. If I understand correctly the rise is set to continue. The current phrase seems to be 'baked in'.



A historian has only one point of reference now.... The Black Death.

[Gloria]

Had my first jab this morning, Pfizer one, couldn’t have been simpler, no queues, well directed to each “station”, waited for 15mins afterwards to be sure of no after effects, thankyou and off you go.

[Big Kev]

Had my first jab this morning, Pfizer one, couldn’t have been simpler, no queues, well directed to each “station”, waited for 15mins afterwards to be sure of no after effects, thankyou and off you go.

Good stuff.

[Tizer]

News this morning that an elderly relative has tested positive for covid-19. This is my cousin, in her 80s, whose daughter's family live nearby and helped us during the initial lockdown period. I've mentioned on OG how she recently had a recurrence of a mental disturbance which first happened after her husband's death some years ago. Since before Christmas she's been in a local small NHS hospital which specialises in old age mental health. The decision was made to assess her needs - whether she could move back in her flat but with carers or needed to move to a care home type of environment permanently. Last week she made a visit back to the flat for the day so that the assessment could be made and that involved visits by a lot of people - carers, doctor, nurse, occup. therapist etc and her daughter had to be present too.

This morning daughter received the news that mum had tested positive after seeming a bit unwell. So now they're scrambling to contact everyone she met last week and get them self-isolating and tested. Of course mum has to be isolated from the other patients too. Daughter rang us and poured out her worries. We tried to comfort her, explaining that the tests sometimes show false positives and mum wasn't presently showing any definite covid-19 symptoms. Also, only 1 in 5 of over-80s who catch covid end up in hospital. And the outlook for those who go into hospital with covid is much better now than it was back in Spring due to the battery of drugs now available for helping such patients. I've advised her to ask for her mum to be tested again, based on the same logic I used above for testing travellers. She might be shown negative on the next test. All we can do now is wait and keep our fingers crossed.

[Tizer]

An article from this morning's copy of The Times, pages 11-12. Click for a larger version of the pics. I've posted it because I knew about the covid deniers but not that they were harassing hospitals and breaking in to take photos.

covid_1.jpg

covid_2.jpg

[Big Kev]

A daily look at Facebook will show you all the deniers you could ever want...

[Stanley]

Definite proof that Sid and Doris Bonkers are still alive and well. Denying the obvious is, in itself, some sort of a disease.
I note that the Clap for Heroes wasn't exactly a success and that some medical staff have gone public and said that the energy would be better spent agitating for pay rises and more support for trainees. This should be the major subject MPs are facing, not ignored as it is with government statements about how much is being spent already. They are just as much killers as the deniers that Peter highlights.
Later...I shall get a letter this week offering me a vaccination. Good news? Not really, it will entail making an appointment and travelling to Manchester. Then standing in a queue with a lot of other people. Sorry, include me out, I am safer shielding at home and waiting for more local vaccinations.
(If someone knows something about progress towards local vaccinations it would be good if they let us know.)

[Gloria]

Why Manchester Stanley? I think you will find they are a lot more local than that. And, there were no queues with a lot of people.

[plaques]

The vaccination venues I have heard about are...
St Peter's Centre Burnley.
Yarn Spinners Nelson.
Health Centre Colne.
All these are large units with multiple vaccination rooms and a rest area after vaccination for possible allergic reactions. These are ideal for the Pfizer vaccine which will be the preferred option until they have got through 15 million doses.

The Oxford vaccine will obviously be used for smaller quantities, care homes etc: but when it will be available in local Barlick type places we don't yet know.

[Stanley]

Gloria. Because Manchester was the closest one mentioned in the list of mass vaccination centres quoted as being used for the offers in the letters.

[Wendyf]

Don't see why you should have to go to Manchester Stanley when the vaccinations for this area are being done in Colne.

[Gloria]

Gloria. Because Manchester was the closest one mentioned in the list of mass vaccination centres quoted as being used for the offers in the letters.

Well that’s telling me then, I’ll shut up.

[Big Kev]

My understanding is the over 80s were contacted by the Barnoldswick Medical Centre, by phone, inviting them to have the first dose of the vaccine. To the best of my knowledge this was done at Colne Health Centre or Yarnspinners in Nelson, I did read a couple of Facebook posts, from people who had taken their parents, and the process sounded very well organised. The only 'delay' being the 15 minute wait afterwards to check for side effects, no queuing to get in.

[Big Kev]

Later...I shall get a letter this week offering me a vaccination.

Have you had a letter, or email, saying you'll get a letter this week offering you a vaccination?
Just wondered how you know one is on the way...

[Tizer]

And who sent the letter or email, and is it genuine, especially if an email message.
Give your local surgery a phone call, ask them about the Manchester message, say you can't travel far and ask them if they can give you the jab soon. Make it friendly and emphasise your concern as a vulnerable person. It's worth a try. Other old folk have asked and got a jab close to home.
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Here is an example of why the NHS workers need a heck of a lot more help than just us going out in the cold and darkness to clap our hands!
`Doctors raise alarm as Covid strikes down NHS workforce: Health service in crisis with 46,000 ill, warns BMA chief as calls grow for tough new lockdown steps' Guardian
`...In a letter to its members, the chair of the British Medical Association, Chaand Nagpaul, revealed the huge number of staff struck down with the virus. “There are over 46,000 hospital staff off sick with Covid-19,” he wrote, “heaping additional pressure on an already overstretched workforce struggling to manage even current critical care demand.” Stressing the need for doctors and other health workers to be vaccinated as soon as possible, Dr Nagpaul added: “It is only if the NHS workforce is kept fit and well that we will be able to meet the unprecedented surge in demand that the coming weeks and months will bring as well as delivering the vaccine programme that remains our only hope to end this dreadful pandemic”..'.

[plaques]

A warning to all amateur recluses. Covid

There is a lot of emphasis on protecting the NHS where the real message should be protecting people from possible death. The pandemic has highlighted that the years of underfunding of the NHS has brought it to breaking point with this crisis. The government is spending money abysmally reacting to a situation of their own making. It would give people more confidence if they knew that some plans were being developed that would put the NHS back to being a world leader rather than heading towards a third world status. No doubt we will hear that they are spending £XYZ and planning to build 40 new hospitals with the hope that this will placate the masses while moving in the opposite direction of denationalization.

Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) told the Guardian: “Even if we vaccinated all over-80s today we would not see a change in the death rates for five weeks or so, and it will not impact on hospitalisation for a long time afterwards (when the over-60s have been vaccinated). It is impossible to overemphasise the seriousness of the current situation. We are in a much worse position than we were in March.”

[Big Kev]

And who sent the letter or email, and is it genuine, especially if an email message.
Give your local surgery a phone call, ask them about the Manchester message, say you can't travel far and ask them if they can give you the jab soon. Make it friendly and emphasise your concern as a vulnerable person. It's worth a try. Other old folk have asked and got a jab close to home.

Could potentially be this news story
https://www.expressandstar.com/news/uk- ... n-centres/
The 11 o'clock news on the BBC mentioned the same thing, there are 7 national vaccination centres around the country. The jabs are available locally though, can't see why there's the need to go all the way to Manchester.

NHS England said the first invitations were being sent to people aged 80 or over who have not yet received a vaccine and live less than 45 minutes drive away from one of the seven new centres.

[Stanley]

Exactly Kev. If they are right I shall get the letter and yes, they are offering venues at those seven centres.
Gloria, sorry if I sounded brusque, I didn't intend to be, but if you look at the news report Kev has flagged up you'll see where I got Manchester from. My point in raising the matter was that I think it's stupid advising people to travel so far when there are closer venues. I probably expressed that badly.
Peter, I explained all that when I was offered the Yarnspinners jab. The lady was very understanding and said that I was not the only one and I would be contacted again after Xmas. I am perfectly content waiting for that call whilst strictly shielding.
I suspect when that will be depends on when the Oxford Vaccine becomes available. I get the feeling that there is a bit of a hold up there.....

[Big Kev]

Not sure on where I can find the data to support it but there are stories circulating, in the papers, about some of the smaller surgeries opting out of administering the vaccine. This is due to a resource issue for the 15 minute wait after the jab, I would imagine this would be a space issue for a lot of them.

The 7 regional centres are primarily to get more people vaccinated, I'm not sure Barlick would be considered as 'within a 45 minute drive of the Manchester vaccination centre' though. Depends on how they work it out. In relation to Manchester, Yarnspinners is reasonably local, do you not have anyone to drive you there (Nelson)? There is the potential you may be offered another opportunity in Colne, that's a few miles closer...

[Tripps]

I read yesterday somewhere (?) that the 15 minute wait after the injection had been stopped - on the grounds that a strong reacion was only a 'one in a million chance'.

Seemed reasonable to me especially after weeding out high risk people who have already shown strong allergic reaction to other things. Has anyone else seen such?

PS Google shows Post vaccination waiting time
Seems it applies only to the Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccine, not the Pfizer. I'm surprised it has not got wider publicity.