Come on Sarah

[It's Character Forming 1,160]

324k first doses of the vaccine yesterday (Friday 15th) plus 4k 2nd doses, if this can be sustained it’s looking good.

 

Does the vaccine programme operate at the same level on the weekend?

[Well b back 3,203]

12 minutes ago, It's Character Forming said:

324k first doses of the vaccine yesterday (Friday 15th) plus 4k 2nd doses, if this can be sustained it’s looking good.

 

Does the vaccine programme operate at the same level on the weekend?

It does

[Barry Brockes 147]

The only huccup here in Norfolk is that some parts of the county received several inches of snow this morning which prevented a number of people from reaching their designated vaccination centre. That's not a big problem in the whole scheme of things but a sustained period of adverse weather on a national scale could affect achievement of the target dates. As at the middle of this afternoon there was a possibility that a quantity of Pfizer vaccine would have to be binned in locations where today was the last day it could be used.

[It's Character Forming 1,160]

Mix of news today, announcement of 10 new vaccine centres opening so daily capacity still growing.

 

Pfizer have announced a temporary shut down to European production to allow them to tool up for higher volumes. So hopefully just a blip.

 

Vaccination numbers yesterday down slightly to 298k first dose & 2.5k 2nd doses, weekend reporting delay or snow effect? Time will tell.

 

Also we’re told 50% of over 80s now vaccinated.

[Yellow Fever 3,772]

On 16/01/2021 at 13:47, A Load of Squit said:

Jabs? It's Salisbury. The vaccine should be smeared on the door handles of the historic cathedral with it's 123 metre spire. 

Playing Stairway to Heaven on the organ?

[CANARYKING 637]

All the stats show the East is way behind the rest , North Suffolk and South Norfolk have the worst figures in the entire country .

[It's Character Forming 1,160]

So the vaccine minister was interviewed on Sky and BBC breakfast this morning, lots of useful updates (cynics might say it was a good time for him to put his head above the parapet, with things going well on the vaccine programme....)

 

• Capacity continues to expand with 10 new mass centres opening to give 17 now, but the plan is to extend this to 50
• Ditto with pharmacies, another 63 are being added to the vaccine programme this week.
• 24/7 vaccines are going to be piloted this week in London.
• However, the main constraint is supply of vaccine and he said deliveries will be "lumpy".  I take from this that we may have periods when vaccine centres simply don't have enough vaccine to use, so daily levels will fluctuate.
• All care home residents/carers should be done (or at least offered the vaccine) by end Jan
• Top 4 tiers should be completed mid Feb
• Over 70s are now being offered the vaccine in some areas - this is in areas that have done a high % of over 80s so clearly makes sense.
• Once the top 8 tiers are completed, these cover 99% of covid deaths so far.
• Israel shows good reduction in serious illness and hospital admissions from their advanced roll-out. No promises on when restrictions can be relaxed.
• He said to allow 2 weeks for the Pfizer vaccine to give protection but 3 weeks for Oxford (I hadn't heard this before).
• September for everyone to be offered a vaccine is achievable (I think this is over 18s).
• Once the top 8 risk tiers are completed, it will be down to the JVCI on the phase 2 of the roll out, his instinct was that it should be offered to police, teachers etc in priority as they have to come into contact with people to do their jobs.

 

[It's Character Forming 1,160]

Daily numbers yesterday down to 225k 1st doses and 2.5k 2nd doses, so although we go over 4m total vaccinated, that's still not what we want to see.  Will keep an eye on this to see if there is a weekly variation in reporting as we've seen for other data or not.

[Well b back 3,203]

21 minutes ago, It's Character Forming said:

Daily numbers yesterday down to 225k 1st doses and 2.5k 2nd doses, so although we go over 4m total vaccinated, that's still not what we want to see.  Will keep an eye on this to see if there is a weekly variation in reporting as we've seen for other data or not.

Shouldn’t be any delays as they record straight onto your medical records. I will see if I can find out at the weekend if extra reporting has to be done. This is the problem with targets, not sure why they even put them in place as like everything they are open comments. You may remember group 5 - 8 was due to be completed by end of March, they have sneakily changed the wording to by the end of Spring, your head tells you it’s April, but that’s actually June.

Please don’t interpret that as a complaint, it will be a remarkable achievement, just don’t understand why they started talking about dates that may or may not happen.

[Well b back 3,203]

48 minutes ago, It's Character Forming said:

Daily numbers yesterday down to 225k 1st doses and 2.5k 2nd doses, so although we go over 4m total vaccinated, that's still not what we want to see.  Will keep an eye on this to see if there is a weekly variation in reporting as we've seen for other data or not.

Just to show how this is evolving, the centre I volunteer in thought we wouldn’t get a vaccine delivery this week as we are well into group 3. However I have just been called to ask if I can help Thursday and Friday as they are now getting a delivery tomorrow night.

[Daz Sparks 1,152]

1 hour ago, Well b back said:

However I have just been called to ask if I can help Thursday and Friday as they are now getting a delivery tomorrow night.

Great to hear WBB, it's so gratifying to see this unfold everyday, please don't stop updating this thread until we are well out of lockdown and maybe onto just the occasional bit of news about your "yearly 9annually modified) C-19 jab".

[It's Character Forming 1,160]

Daily numbers down again to 204k yesterday (Sunday) plus 4.5k 2nd doses. 

 

As with everything on this pandemic, we shouldn't pin too much on any single day's numbers, I'm just impatient to see the numbers going in the right direction !!  I remember back in December I saw a quote about 200k/day which equates to 6m a month, and at the time I was pretty happy about that prospect.  Now my expectations are higher ! 

[Well b back 3,203]

55 minutes ago, It's Character Forming said:

Daily numbers down again to 204k yesterday (Sunday) plus 4.5k 2nd doses. 

 

As with everything on this pandemic, we shouldn't pin too much on any single day's numbers, I'm just impatient to see the numbers going in the right direction !!  I remember back in December I saw a quote about 200k/day which equates to 6m a month, and at the time I was pretty happy about that prospect.  Now my expectations are higher ! 

Indeed.

I still have a feeling we might hit the first target but it will from now take 383,000 + per day. 
The expectations ( in my opinion ) were silly to be made so high though, we are way ahead of where the manufacturers said we would be, and way below those expectations.

[Van wink 2,994]

The Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is likely to protect against the more infectious strain of the virus that has helped drive soaring cases in the UK.

The encouraging results, which have come out of BioNTech’s own headquarters and have yet to be peer reviewed, stem from analysing the blood of participants in trials. They are based on more extensive analysis than those already released by the US drugmaker Pfizer.
 

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/pfizer-biontech-covid-vaccine-effective-uk-mutation_uk_60080760c5b6efae62fd370

This is suggesting not so good for the SA strain

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jan/20/covid-vaccines-may-need-updating-to-protect-against-new-variant-study-suggests

 

 

Edited January 20, 2021 by Van wink

[Tetteys Jig 830]

makes you wonder where we'll go with all this. We'll all get a go at a vaccine by summer and then what? a bunch more mutations have happened so we're back to all needing a booster shot? Or would they just do the at risk and let the rest of us cope with the mutations with the original vaccines? Just seems like we're chasing our tails here

[Van wink 2,994]

9 minutes ago, Tetteys Jig said:

makes you wonder where we'll go with all this. We'll all get a go at a vaccine by summer and then what? a bunch more mutations have happened so we're back to all needing a booster shot? Or would they just do the at risk and let the rest of us cope with the mutations with the original vaccines? Just seems like we're chasing our tails here

It will become like seasonal flu, hopefully, the more it’s suppressed the less opportunity for it to mutate. The main thing this flags is the need for a global response to vaccination.

[Tetteys Jig 830]

15 minutes ago, Van wink said:

It will become like seasonal flu, hopefully, the more it’s suppressed the less opportunity for it to mutate. The main thing this flags is the need for a global response to vaccination.

just gives me a sinking feeling that we're gonna be in and out of lockdowns for years to come... very anxious few months ahead of us!

Surely the most contagious will be the dominant one and bust the others out of the way much like grey squirrels did to red squirrels. Might render the weaker one of these 2 mutations a temporary thing until the other one takes over.

[Yellow Fever 3,772]

Coronavirus live: Oxford scientists to modify vaccine to combat new variants; 

Guardian 

[Well b back 3,203]

15 minutes ago, Yellow Fever said:

Coronavirus live: Oxford scientists to modify vaccine to combat new variants; 

Guardian 

I appreciate that it is a quick job, but does that mean everyone with Oxford has to be vaccinated again ? I wonder if the booster jab can be a modified one and the 2 combined are ok ?

[Yellow Fever 3,772]

9 minutes ago, Well b back said:

I appreciate that it is a quick job, but does that mean everyone with Oxford has to be vaccinated again ? I wonder if the booster jab can be a modified one and the 2 combined are ok ?

I think quick is a relative term. Changing the jab is probably quick (month or two). Test, manufacturing, certification and distribution are probably more worrying.

[Well b back 3,203]

36 minutes ago, Yellow Fever said:

Coronavirus live: Oxford scientists to modify vaccine to combat new variants; 

Guardian 

Found this on a quick search and looks like our variant will be ok. I wonder if Oxford have actually said they are getting for future variants ?. I know the new technology in Pfizer and Moderna can be altered in hours.

This virus seems a clever little blighter.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/covid-oxford-vaccine-uk-variant-doses-b1790026.html

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jan/20/covid-vaccines-may-need-updating-to-protect-against-new-variant-study-suggests

 

 

 

 

[Well b back 3,203]

6 minutes ago, Yellow Fever said:

I think quick is a relative term. Changing the jab is probably quick (month or two). Test, manufacturing, certification and distribution are probably more worrying.

Indeed, I just looked it up. Would take hours to revamp the vaccine, but then the new variant would need to be grown in the lab and then tested against the vaccine ( 4 - 6 weeks it said ). Johnson has been reassured the MHRA would do quick approval. The worrying thing to me was 29 South African cases already found in the U.K., going by B1.1.7. it spread from one case in September to where we are now 4 months later.

[Well b back 3,203]

What do you think @Tetteys Jig

[Yellow Fever 3,772]

1 minute ago, Well b back said:

Indeed, I just looked it up. Would take hours to revamp the vaccine, but then the new variant would need to be grown in the lab and then tested against the vaccine ( 4 - 6 weeks it said ). Johnson has been reassured the MHRA would do quick approval. The worrying thing to me was 29 South African cases already found in the U.K., going by B1.1.7. it spread from one case in September to where we are now 4 months later.

No panic. I think (no expert) that you may get some partial or cross immunity between Covid19 variants anyway. However, it will still be a balance between virus and vaccine however effective until we can reduce the prevalence to typical flu levels. In short restrictions aren't going away. We will need a global solution else we will all be stuck on repeated cycles.

[It's Character Forming 1,160]

Good to see 363k vaccine numbers (1st doses) reported today which is the highest yet.  It's been commented there is slow reporting over the weekend so I suspect that will mean there is a lag on the numbers, plus we've already been told the delivery of vaccine will be "lumpy" so we are likely to see daily numbers fluctuating and it will be the ongoing trend that matters.

[Van wink 2,994]

3 hours ago, It's Character Forming said:

Good to see 363k vaccine numbers (1st doses) reported today which is the highest yet.  It's been commented there is slow reporting over the weekend so I suspect that will mean there is a lag on the numbers, plus we've already been told the delivery of vaccine will be "lumpy" so we are likely to see daily numbers fluctuating and it will be the ongoing trend that matters.

It’s a fantastic effort by all concerned

[Tetteys Jig 830]

My wife is getting the Oxford/AZ vaccine tomorrow! Fantastic news for her and it kind of came out of the blue. Her school have sorted something so their teachers and TAs etc. can all go get the jab. Not sure if them being an academy had anything to do with getting in early compared to the other schools but 🙌

Just hope this version is effective enough at least against anything that comes over in these new mutations. I wonder if having our version of the mutation so dominant might save us from the SA mutation one overwhelming us?

Anyway, at least it gives her hope that by Easter she can hug her new nephews. We did a bit of childcare before lockdown when they were just born as they have a 5 year old and newborn twins but had resigned ourselves to basically not seeing them until summer since my wife would be in a high risk environment.

[Well b back 3,203]

3 minutes ago, Van wink said:

It’s a fantastic effort by all concerned

We have 500 coming in tomorrow, the vaccine is supposed to arrive tonight so fingers crossed, only our second Oxford delivery. 

[Well b back 3,203]

18 minutes ago, Tetteys Jig said:

My wife is getting the Oxford/AZ vaccine tomorrow! Fantastic news for her and it kind of came out of the blue. Her school have sorted something so their teachers and TAs etc. can all go get the jab. Not sure if them being an academy had anything to do with getting in early compared to the other schools but 🙌

Just hope this version is effective enough at least against anything that comes over in these new mutations. I wonder if having our version of the mutation so dominant might save us from the SA mutation one overwhelming us?

Anyway, at least it gives her hope that by Easter she can hug her new nephews. We did a bit of childcare before lockdown when they were just born as they have a 5 year old and newborn twins but had resigned ourselves to basically not seeing them until summer since my wife would be in a high risk environment.

That’s good news TJ

I did a bit in a care home yesterday, it was like being on a COVID ward. With hindsight we should have ensured even with the Pfizer logistic difficulties those first batches were used solely in care homes. After a bad start, the virus was pushed back from these places, but when the new one gets in there is no stopping it as social distancing ect is impossible.

[Well b back 3,203]

There are reports that the U.K. may bow to pressure and reissue the Pfizer second dose advise at 6 weeks. This would come as no surprise. In our usual way I must stress at the moment these are just reports and I will keep you updated.