Covid vaccine appointment – long queue despite booking?

Went to get my 1st jab today in Manchester, turned up and the queue to get in was all the way down the street, round the corner, all the way round the next street, round the next corner, and then most of the way up the next street! Must have been >100 people waiting, all of whom apparently had appointments (according to the guy checking people in). Waited for about 15 mins and we’d only moved forward by 4 people or so, so just binned it off – I’d have pissed myself before I got anywhere near the front!

Is this normal? Are they assuming a certain % of people won’t show up so they’re overbooking?

Pretty annoyed with the waste of time and it puts me off booking it again, might just wait til the GP calls me in. At least I can walk there…

Serco solutions?

😆 just be happy vaccine take up is excellent.

First of mine – maybe a dozen in a fast moving queue. Second, no queue at all. I find the fact that your queue wasn’t moving to be the weirdest part of that – perhaps an incident of some kind inside the venue?

I’d guess it was a staff shortage, if a few people didn’t show up I can see how a long line would build up over the course of the day. Amazed other people were willing to wait in it tbh. No idea who was running it.

Yeah, like anything else with a flow of people it doesn’t take an awful lot to mess it up and just like viral doubling it takes a looong time to get stuff back under control.

(medical appointments are often scheduled on the assumption that a load of people won’t turn up, too. So it doesn’t even need to go wrong for it to go wrong, it just has to go slightly too right)

For mine, no queue at any point.

Pretty much walked straight in, got jabbed, walked straight out again.

As Northwind says, it only takes a couple of problems to block the vaccination PODs and the queue can build very quickly. We’ve had a few needle-phobic fainters all keel over at once in a sort of group-sympathy domino effect; that caused 2hr queues that took a while to get under control.

Average door to door time at our large vacc site is approx 10mins, so I think OP was just unlucky.

Yeah, probably just bad luck but feeling a bit frustrated by it!

Went to get my 1st jab today in Manchester

Could I just ask specifically which site? Etihad?

North Manchester, MMC

Not being funny cos I’d be brassed off too, I had to wait a while when I had my 1st one, 11 weeks ago, but there’s one or two people in India who’d queue for a week without food for a jab.

‘Had to wait for a vaccine jab that could save my life’. 1st world problems eh?

Probably an issue at the centre as normally it’s like a production line.

I think they’re just asking for an explanation essel not declaring an international crisis.

Walked straight in to first and expect to walk straight in for second on Monday. Both booked as first appointments so in theory shouldn’t be many in front of me.

Stop moaning, if you wanted the jab you’d have waited !

Hardly worth moaning about, especially since it could save your life !

Walked in, walked out with jab and a free KitKat. Hope you cancelled the appointment so someone else had the chance to have it

Had my first one last Friday, Pfizer at Saracens rugby stadium, the whole process took 3 hours.
Nothing to complain about though, it was free and hardly any hassle, plus when I or person in front or behind needed a wee we just saved each others space.

Ps. Mine was booked for 3pm, the ladies running the queue said it was quite normal to see on a Friday or Saturday

Definitely a first world problem, and tbh I’m not that bothered about getting vaccinated – I’m pretty low risk and 99% certain I’ve had it already. Just venting as I was a bit frustrated at the waste of time!

Unfitgeezer, if no-one moaned on STW there would basically be no posts…

I had my first one at 8:30 on a Sunday morning so no queue. Popped into town on Tue afternoon and there was a significant queue for the vaccination centre.

Second one booked in for the same time on a Sunday, so hoping it will be just as quick.

Walked in, walked out with jab and a free KitKat

What? I didn’t get a KitKat! Get me Matt Hancock on the blower!

What? I didn’t get a KitKat! Get me Matt Hancock on the blower!

More importantly, 2 fingers or 4?

Foil or plastic?

Kitkat? I didn’t even get a sticker..

I get jabbed at my local GP, 2nd jab next week. They have 4 jabbers running in parallel and 10mins per slot. You get allocated a 10min slot but they just stick you in the queue as soon as you arrive, first jab prob had 10 people in the queue, only waited a few mins. Queue was all outside, so little chance of anyone spreading Covid. Anyone with any symptoms is asked to leave rather than join the queue.

walked straight out again

hmm you are supposed to wait 15mins in case you have a reaction

Regarding a reaction I think it may depend on your medical history. They asked if I was driving and but I’d walked so they kicked me straight out.

Had mine at Plymouth Argle . Half an hour mid morning door to door with 15min waiting after jab.
Felt sorry for the line of people stood outside the initial tent when the weather took a biblical turn for the worse as i was coming out

I was supposed to go to argyle but got offered a GP appt just down the road as well so did that instead. I’d have needed all sorts of other jabs to take a trip to the muff.

hmm you are supposed to wait 15mins in case you have a reaction

Only for the Pfizer.

hmm you are supposed to wait 15mins in case you have a reaction

Not for AZ

We waited more than 30 minutes, prob nearer 45, to register at a mobile centre because the wifi was a dodgy connection on their tablets. Once inside took another 15. Most people still queued and took the jab, you’re off work at that point and we had driven 45 minutes to get there. Also at the very least I expect more people now trying to get ‘fully vaccinated’ with 2 doses plus 2-3 weeks, if you want to travel abroad this summer should make everything much easier.

Etihad is really good. Cycled up, was directed to bike stands, locked up, walked in, checked in, then walked through to main hall, jabbed, and out. So many staff/volunteers.

If one person is vaccinating it takes about 8 minutes per client by the time you’ve done the paperwork, changed aprons, wiped down chairs etc.

Each centre may have different routines.
At mine everybody fills in a form before being assessed this is usually the bottleneck as you need a HCP to do this.
No iPads at ours but a team of people inputting all the paperwork on laptops.
Not sure how the written consent bit works with a tablet based system.

tbh I’m not that bothered about getting vaccinated – I’m pretty low risk and 99% certain I’ve had it already

This attitude is why there an issue in some areas. Just because you think your low risk doesn’t mean you can’t pass it on.
Be part of the solution, not the problem.

hmm you are supposed to wait 15mins in case you have a reaction

Not for AZ

I was requested to, both times.

Not sure how the written consent bit works with a tablet based system.

Do I have your consent to give you this vaccination?

Yes.

/Tick consent given.

A bit more to it than Drac suggests but e-consent means all the patients/individuals info gets instantly uploaded to one of the two systems (NIVS or Pinnacle) used to push the info into the GP record

2nd jab this Saturday, Glasgow central Mosque.
Which is quite good as I’ve always wanted to visit the central Mosque, but always miss their open days.

free KitKat.

I wonder if that’s down to poor take up of the jab, as way of a bribe. For sure thats Tory idea of a bribe for the common masses. Cheap as it gets, I hope you checked the sell by date 😕

hmm you are supposed to wait 15mins in case you have a reaction

Not for AZ

I was requested to, both times.

Me too.

Bit of a queue for mine in Dundee this week (appointment is issued in Scotland rather than booking yourself). The volunteer lady said there’d been a bit of a hiccup with delivery earlier and it had thrown off everything and that usually the longest you’d wait is 10mins from when you sign in. I guess I waited about 20 but had expected to wait much longer based on the queue size.

OP – even if you’ve had COVID (I have) the vaccine reduces the chance you’ll get it again, and even more importantly the chance you might pass it on. I hope you consider re-booking your jab.

I had the same experience as fossy: found the Sheffield stands and minimal queueing,no bother.

Have to say that not bothering to wait to get the jab is pretty poor. You can have covid more than once so that’s no excuse either.