Author: stapsell

We are planning our vaccine dates for second doses of Oxford Vaccine at Hartland Surgery.

We amended dates on Tue 18 May 2021, after change of guidance and vaccine supply to enable 8 weeks interval between doses.

* second dose date brought forwards to around 8 weeks

If you are aged 45 or above, you are now eligible for a vaccine, booked through the national booking website. You will be offered a choice of vaccine venues.

We will not be doing more “first doses” at Hartland Surgery. We will still be doing second doses up until the end of June for those who had the first dose at the surgery.

We still encourage everyone to get a vaccine, to get protected for themselves, and to prevent circulation of the virus in our community.

We currently have 1648 (59%) of our patients vaccinated (first dose) including 272 (10%) who are fully vaccinated (both doses).

We are now looking out for blood clots after the Oxford Vaccine (Astra-Zeneca), around 4 in every millions doses. There is more information in a government leaflet here

We are told these dont develop until after 4 days from the vaccine date (which is after the common 2-3 days of “flu-like” symptoms, which can include headache, temperature and feeling unwell).

There are no reports of clots after a second dose, so we have no concerns recommending the second vaccine dose, even where you felt unwell for 2-3 days afterwards, or are in the younger group of people.

What should I look out for after vaccination?

Although serious side effects are very rare, if you experience any of the following from around 4 days to 4 weeks after vaccination you should
seek medical advice urgently.

• a new, severe headache which is not helped by usual painkillers or is getting worse
• a headache which seems worse when lying down or bending over or
• an unusual headache that may be accompanied by:
  • blurred vision, nausea and vomiting
  • diffculty with your speech
  • weakness, drowsiness or seizures
  • new, unexplained pinprick bruising or bleeding
  • shortness of breath, chest pain, leg swelling or persistent abdominal pain

We have vaccine available, and a few of our patients are eligible but still not had their first dose. Overal 1534 (56%) of our patients have had a first dose of vaccine so far. This is actually 71% of those eligible, since a vaccine is currently recommended for those aged over 18.

We are therefore getting in touch with those not yet done to offer a catch up vaccine for Wednesday, please get in touch if you are waiting from groups 1-9 (Aged over 50, vulnerable, carers).

For those under 50, there is expected to be a delay through April while vaccine priority is on the second doses within 12 weeks to get maximum protection for those most at risk.

Regarding numbers, we have the following cohort sizes still needing vaccine, a total of 635

• Aged 40-49 – 205
• Age 30-39 – 190
• Age 18-29 – 240

As we move to younger groups of patients, we are getting more questions regarding whether it would be a good idea to be vaccinated?

YES! 100% yes! Every member of our staff has been vaccinated.

• COVID is very contagious – you will almost all get exposed in the next year or two.
• Fatigue and breathlessness is common after COVID, even in previously fit and active people, its not just the risk of death.
• There is very good safety data on the vaccines to show that any risks are much lower compared with the placebo group. “Real world” data in the UK has shown a dramatic fall in the overall death rate starting a few weeks after the vaccine.
• After a vaccine you are unlikely to be unwell from COVID, almost certain to not need hospital treatment for COVID, much lower risk of spreading infection.
• You will be protecting our community, making our area a safer place to live for everyone. Especially for those who dont have a strong immune system.

What about pregnant women or children? We are waiting to confirm that vaccination is safe, but we will vaccinate our children if this is recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). They are the best in their field, whose expert advice we trust.

We had 190 doses of Oxford AstraZeneca Vaccine today, but as an unexpected bonus each 5mls vial contained 6mls of vaccine (12 doses not 10), meaning we actually had an extra 38 doses. We were warned these were definitely not going to be over-filled. We have therefore been making some last minute calls today to use all the vaccine and make sure none is wasted.

Almost every person aged 50+ or in an at risk group has now been offered a vaccine from the surgery, nearly 4 weeks ahead of schedule! What a great success.

We are told the next priority for vaccine will now be for completing the second doses before 12 weeks, and this is all fully on course. We will still be sending updates with just a short notice, when the supply of vaccine is confirmed.

This means there may be some weeks before those under 50 start getting invited, by the national booking system.

A big thank you for all your ongoing support (and patience as you await your turn).

We are sending out SMS invites for this Friday morning, working our way down the list based on age.

We dont yet know how many people have already booked an appointment through the central booking system (Westward Ho or Wadebridge) so when we invite you by SMS,  please reply to the message if possible. Hopefully this is enough to reach all those aged 50 and above, as we expect a lot of the groups aged over 57 already have booked appointments.

For information, our group sizes and numbers vaccinated are as follows

• Age 60-64 158 (86 done, 72 remaining)
• Age 55-59 208 (28 done, 180 remaining)
• Age 50-54 150 (12 done, 138 remaining)

We are also advised of another 100 doses expected for next week, so we can be really confident of finishing all the first 9 “at risk” groups next week.