The vaccine passport thing is totally irrelevant. It’s a mind game and practically ineffective in a medical context.

That’s why fiddling with it is just burning time that would be better spent in lockdown so that it’s shorter and we can get out of it for Christmas and Hogmany. Wasn’t that the thing last year they had Boris pilloried over for his nonsense – the “circuit breaker”? We need one of them now.

40+k new cases on a Sunday? oooooo.

yeah that “significant slump” in November cases being touted by the government is yet too materialize!

Thank you Martinhutch. Got mine booked now for the earliest out can be 20 Dec. Wife also which is Thursday. She is asthmatic so had her first 2 ahead of me, but had been unable to book a booster (and not bothered to chase that…. Despite my nagging getting more and more).

For anyone that thought it was a bit sh*** they didn’t allow 16+ to get double vaccinated they can now book their 2nd dose.

People aged 16 or over are eligible for a 2nd dose.

People aged 18 or over should have their 2nd dose from 8 weeks after their 1st dose.

Most people aged 16 or 17 should have their 2nd dose from 12 weeks after their 1st dose.

If you book online, you’ll be asked to book appointments for both doses. You can manage your COVID-19 vaccination appointments to view your appointments and rebook if you need to.
If you had your 1st dose at a walk-in vaccination site, you can book your 2nd COVID-19 vaccination appointment online. You’ll need to wait 24 hours after your 1st dose before you can book.
If you have your 1st dose through your GP surgery, you’ll be contacted when it’s time to book your 2nd dose.

worked out its  exactly 152days since my 2nd jab so got online this morning and booked for 22nd dec, 5min wait on the website but pretty straightforward.

I thought it would be the 24th but i hadn’t counted the days properly. 22nd is better as I’m out of leave so working up to xmas eve. at least if I get any side effects it’ll be on work time…

Wife’s work colleague’s 4 year old son has had to be moved to Oxford hospital (from Northampton Gen) with serious covid complications.

Wife’s work colleague’s 4 year old son has had to be moved to Oxford hospital (from Northampton Gen) with serious covid complications.

Jeez, that sounds horrendous for his family.

Doesn’t sound good for the little lad either. Fingers crossed he recovers fast.

booster and flu jab done today.

Just got my booster dose, it and the flu vaccine are competing to see which can make an arm throb more. Totally worth it though.

And the vaccine factory at the Royal Highland Showground is super impressive. Bit slow for the individual but it gets shit done.

Just got my booster dose, it and the flu vaccine are competing to see which can make an arm throb more.

It’s always the flu one that makes my arm ache, the last one, a couple of months ago, really made it ache, it was quite tender for a week or so; I’ve had all three Covid jabs, and none of those had any significant effects.

Wife’s booster & 16yo daughter 2nd both booked in Dec. Youngest (13) had his first, plus had Covid in September. All grandparents boosted, and my booster was in July (trial) We are as a family as protected as we can be thankfully.

Out of interest for those of you getting the flu jab is it something you’ve previously done or just recently because of covid? I’ve never seen the need.

I’ve not had it before, but I don’t really want to pass it on to the elderly, who could then get hit by Covid whilst their immune system is weakened.

Gribs
Full Member

Out of interest for those of you getting the flu jab is it something you’ve previously done or just recently because of covid? I’ve never seen the need.

I get it because I’m diabetic… TBH, I don’t really feel a need, flu is more of a risk for us diabetics but I’m healthy, I think the actual risk for me is bugger all. But I’d feel a right knob if I said no then died of it, and it might help take a little pressure off the nhs too this winter.

I’ve never seen the need.

Getting the flu is pretty crap whatever your age, and it’s not very good for the economy. For those two reasons it is worth, where possible, to minimise the risks

I have never had the flu jab before but am considering it now

My reasons for not having it? I have never known of anyone actually getting flu ( unitl my dad caught it two years ago). Lots of people claim to have had flu but IME its very rare. I am not in an at risk category and I react badly to vaccinations ( possibly mainly in my head 🙂 )

I had my first flu jab last year because they lowered the age requirement and it seemed that any way of reducing the potential load on he NHS was a good thing. It was unremarkable. I’m assuming I’ll get it again at the beginning of December when my Covid booster is due.

I had flu once, i think it was about ’95 – it was torture. I actually remember thinking at the time, in the lucid parts in between the hellish torment, how i now understood why people died of it.

Actually, one of the interesting things i read recently sort of led with the idea that this whole undercurrent that it’s ‘only’ like the flu should be treated as – ¡¡¡ SH!T IT’S LIKE THE FLU!!!

I got mine as soon as i could.

Never had flue either, and I didn’t get the flu jab until my eldest almost died from reactive airways when he was little. Figured that anything I could do to keep it out of the household was worthwhile. Plus they push a trolley around my workplace dishing it out, so it’s pretty easy to do.

My work does flu jabs for anyone that wants it every year. I’ve done it for the past few years even though personally I’m not in a high risk group. Flu is awful – I know the flu vaccine doesn’t always have a high effectiveness in a given year but if over 10 years it saves me from 1 or 2 bouts of flu that’s a big win.

Had a flu jab for the first time. Seemed sensible. No real downsides and and some significant upsides. Did it in tesco for about £8. Took less than 5 mins before shopping.

Never had a flu jab before but I’ve just turned 50 and my local health centre contated me with the offer of a flu jab, I’d never really thought about about getting it previously but thought why not? Booked in online and had the jab a few days later.

What definitely take a flu jab if offered – have heard the flu (real flu, not a bad cold) is extremely memorable but for all the wrong reasons.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/23/covid-patients-in-icu-now-almost-all-unvaccinated-says-oxford-scientist

I nearly died from flu a decade or so ago, or at least from the pneumonia that followed it. Took me months to recover.

I’m asthmatic, so at higher risk, but was in my mid-30s at the time and pretty fit.

Getting the flu jab today. Never had it before. Is it because of covid?

Probably, the pandemic has raised my fear (personal and societal) of respiratory illness.

I’ve had flu twice, it is AWFUL, I hope to never have it again.

I was told The test for flu is ‘Someone has left £20 on your doorstep, can you get out of bed and get it?’

If the answer is ‘yes’, it’s not flu.

I had my first flu jab last year because they lowered the age requirement and it seemed that any way of reducing the potential load on he NHS was a good thing. It was unremarkable.

Me last year, already had it this year.

MrsMC had proper flu in the winter 2000, properly ill in bed for best part of 2 weeks, over a month to fully recover.

I certainly don’t want to catch it, I definitely don’t want my elderly parents to catch it, or risk the knock on of pneumonia or bronchitis.

Never had any reaction to my two flu jabs, I’d feel pretty stupid spending the last 2 years trying to reduce strain on the NHS and then **** that up by catching or spreading a flu virus by not having a simple (for me) jab.

I started taking a flu jag about 10 years ago, work were offering it, wife worked in the hospice at the time, with some very vulnerable people, it just seemed a decent thing to do.

Also, I’ve never had it/sounds horrible/don’t want it.

Probably, the pandemic has raised my fear (personal and societal) of respiratory illness.

An interesting sidenote for the ‘it’s just a flu’ crowd is that while Covid has many of the features of a respiratory illness (including the ability to spread like one), it should probably be considered primarily a cardiovascular one, as that’s where it **** you up.

Apologies if this has been asked before. Why is Europe in such a bad position with rising cases compared to the UK? All the graphs I’ve seen Eng / Sco / Wales has a moderately high number of cases but it’s not really rising. (Except NI).

I know we were ahead of the game with vaccination etc but booster take up not so good and with protection waning surely we’d be worse off?

Is it as simple as cases have been high in combination with the early relaxation of lockdown measures in the UK so we do have some kind of herd immunity – we got it out of the way while the going was good in the summer? Or is vaccine take up lower in Europe. Struggling to find any real answers…

Or will we be catching up Europe in the next few weeks?

Edit: Maybe some answers… https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59378849

Linda Bauld was discussing this on Radio at the weekend, basically looks like we’ve kinda fluked it by having delta wallop us in summer, open up too early, so levels of immunity and luck combine, whereas the EU countries affected didn’t open as early and weren’t as badly hit.

I know we were ahead of the game with vaccination

We aren’t, we’re mid-table.

Or is vaccine take up lower in Europe.

Higher in many countries, lower in some others.

Linda Bauld was discussing this on Radio at the weekend, basically looks like we’ve kinda fluked it by having delta wallop us in summer, open up too early, so levels of immunity and luck combine, whereas the EU countries affected didn’t open as early and weren’t as badly hit.

The question is whether waning vaccine protection in the middle-aged coupled with complacency and normal winter behaviours (mixing indoors, lower immunity due to less sunlight) will come back to bite us over the next couple of months.

Even as it is, we’ve been plateauing at 150-200 deaths a day for a while now, even before winter, so whether we come out the other side ahead of some of these spiking EU countries remains to be seen.

Vaccine take up is middling in the UK, but booster take up is far ahead of the rest of Europe. I too, however, am not convinced it’s vaccination, since the rate of increase in cases across Europe is VERY consistent and much less variable than the vaccination spread.

The emergent new Delta strain in Europe is AY.4.3 rather than AY.4.2, which is growing in the UK to replace standard Delta. It is possible that the 40k cases per day we have been running for some time now provides some protection against rapid invasion of a new strain, and hence the rate of growth is slower than elsewhere. Personally, I still expect cases to rise, but could be proven wrong in a week or two.

As for influenza, I’ve had it three times in the past 20 years (including Swine flu in 2009). I’ve been struck down pretty badly on each occasion, and don’t recommend it to anyone. I get the vaccination from work (since we make it), or last year, from the GP. When I’ve had it, I’ve needed about a month to recover properly. COVID19 was worse. (at least 12 months to recover, but feeling a lot better now).

Vaccine take up is middling in the UK, but booster take up is far ahead of the rest of Europe.

Are fewer people currently eligible for a booster in continental Europe, because they were relatively slow off the mark initially for first and second doses?

basically looks like we’ve kinda fluked it by having delta wallop us in summer

It wasn’t a fluke it was a judgement call which was clearly explained at the time.

But by the end of June, Whitty had concluded it was better for England to move through a third wave during the summer — when schools are out and there are fewer seasonal illnesses — than wait until the autumn. Only about one in a thousand Covid-19 cases now result in death.

“At a certain point, you move to the situation where instead of actually averting hospitalisations and deaths, you move over to just delaying them,” Whitty said at a Downing Street press conference last Monday.

From here

EDIT: At the moment looks like a good call, but we won’t know for sure for at least a couple of months.

It was/is clearly a bold and risky call to have made. If it works then brilliant, and I really hope it does!

I’m nervous though

I’m nervous though

I’m cautiously optimistic.

BTW, I do not believe that waning vaccine immunity explains the consistent rate of increase in cases across Europe. I’m sure this is emergence of another strain of interest that has a competitive advantage. The UK has most likely developed some herd immunity (with reduced proportion susceptible) and that now slows the rate of spread.

Israel is the most boosted country, and that shows no increase in cases.

Here is the UK cases compared with Europe excluding the UK. Whilst we are inside the geometric mean 95% confidence interval, we still have almost 50% more cases than the European median (red dashed line).

Austria, Germany, France, Spain, Ireland… even Iceland, all have the same rate of growth from early October. It’s very consistent.