So, coronavirus...

[Raggs]

More post vaccine health concerns, this time with the Pfizer jab in Israel.

"Of over five million people who received the vaccine in Israel, around 62 cases of myocarditis were recorded in days after the vaccination, the report said. Furthermore,
56 of these cases arose on administering the second shot and most of the affected were men under 30. "

https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.c ... r-vaccine/









Also came across this
More Bill Gates is evil stuff
Presume thats some kind of Indian propaganda organisation

Concerning that it's the second dose. First dose I could more easily imagine that they were infected by covid. After the 2nd dose that seems less likely. It's still small numbers of course, but still.

[dpedin]

Well I'm hoping that we will be able to ditch compulsory wearing of masks completely before too long, but I doubt it'll happen in June. September is a possibility but we're still dependent on the vaccine covering all bases with regard to reduction rapid spread of mutated COVID versions.

Hearing there might be a flu/respiratory bug kicking around the SH causing a few concerns, particularly for kids, the s coming winter. I suspect we will be wearing masks, cleaning hands and socially distancing in some form throughout the winter months. There might be a respite over the summer re mask wearing etc but having had little if any flu or respiratory viruses this winter we could be in for a bit of a hit this coming winter. Most folk, mistakenly, suggest we treat covid19 like the flu but realistically we should be treating the flu like covid19 going forward. Mask wearing etc in densely populated locations might be here for longer than folk think.

[tabascoboy]

Face coverings

The chief scientific adviser, has stated that he expects face coverings to be necessary next winter.

It seems likely the public will either be advised to wear masks, or choose to, as the return to normality leads to an increase in highly populated areas

[BnM]

Got my second jab booked for tomorrow. Exactly 9 weeks! Really surprised as my immune suppressed Dad only had his on Tues.

[Slick]

I've been speaking to a couple of people in Kenya this morning who are saying that there is real fear of a devastating wave on its way. The fall out from India is causing problems as well - no vaccine now arriving and folk who have had the first vaccine not going to be able to get the 2nd for months so back to square one.

Oddly, they have shut all schools but kept business open which seems a bit counter intuitive.

[Dinsdale Piranha]

I've been speaking to a couple of people in Kenya this morning who are saying that there is real fear of a devastating wave on its way. The fall out from India is causing problems as well - no vaccine now arriving and folk who have had the first vaccine not going to be able to get the 2nd for months so back to square one.

Oddly, they have shut all schools but kept business open which seems a bit counter intuitive.

1st dose seems to have a pretty long lasting effect so while it's not as good as 2 doses, it's not going to revert to no protection.

[Biffer]

Well I'm hoping that we will be able to ditch compulsory wearing of masks completely before too long, but I doubt it'll happen in June. September is a possibility but we're still dependent on the vaccine covering all bases with regard to reduction rapid spread of mutated COVID versions.

Hearing there might be a flu/respiratory bug kicking around the SH causing a few concerns, particularly for kids, the s coming winter. I suspect we will be wearing masks, cleaning hands and socially distancing in some form throughout the winter months. There might be a respite over the summer re mask wearing etc but having had little if any flu or respiratory viruses this winter we could be in for a bit of a hit this coming winter. Most folk, mistakenly, suggest we treat covid19 like the flu but realistically we should be treating the flu like covid19 going forward. Mask wearing etc in densely populated locations might be here for longer than folk think.

Yeah, and the flu vaccination is going to be a real stab in the dark this winter with no disease patterns to project from. I think we may have a very bad flu season either this winter or next.

[Lobby]

The Brazilian Health Regulator has decided not to approve the Russian vaccine, Sputnik V, on safety grounds, and highlighted "inherent risks" and "serious" defects with the vaccine.

They are claiming that the adenovirus that is used to make the vaccine hasn't been properly deactivated, and is capable of reproducing. The makers apparently neglected to delete E1, so those who are given this vaccine are being infected with live adenovirus 5.

The Russians have rejected these claims, and have stated that this is a political decision, and that the US are trying to discredit the vaccine, but if true, this is a fairly serious defect. More here:

[Saint]

The Brazilian Health Regulator has decided not to approve the Russian vaccine, Sputnik V, on safety grounds, and highlighted "inherent risks" and "serious" defects with the vaccine.

They are claiming that the adenovirus that is used to make the vaccine hasn't been properly deactivated, and is capable of reproducing. The makers apparently neglected to delete E1, so those who are given this vaccine are being infected with live adenovirus 5.

The Russians have rejected these claims, and have stated that this is a political decision, and that the US are trying to discredit the vaccine, but if true, this is a fairly serious defect. More here:

Given the mess the Brazilians are in, I can't see them rejecting Sputnik unless they were really worried. And I can't see them paying much attention to the US either

[Calculon]

If accurate that's some really sloppy QC work from the manufacturers. I understand that they are working flat out and under pressure trying to fulfill all the orders, but that is no excuse. Hopefully the Sputnik v that is going to be produced in South Korea, Turkey and Mexico will have better QC.

[tc27]

UK has ordered 60m Pfizer vaccinations for its booster programme this Autumn

Makes sense as RNA based vaccinations can be adapted much more easily to account for new strains.

[Lobby]

The Brazilian Health Regulator has decided not to approve the Russian vaccine, Sputnik V, on safety grounds, and highlighted "inherent risks" and "serious" defects with the vaccine.

They are claiming that the adenovirus that is used to make the vaccine hasn't been properly deactivated, and is capable of reproducing. The makers apparently neglected to delete E1, so those who are given this vaccine are being infected with live adenovirus 5.

The Russians have rejected these claims, and have stated that this is a political decision, and that the US are trying to discredit the vaccine, but if true, this is a fairly serious defect. More here:

Given the mess the Brazilians are in, I can't see them rejecting Sputnik unless they were really worried. And I can't see them paying much attention to the US either

The Slovenian regulator also raised concerns that the Sputnik V vaccines being delivered to it differed significantly from the one used in phase III trials, so this doesn’t appear to be an isolated incident.

[BnM]

[quote]European Union lawyers on Wednesday demanded AstraZeneca (AZN.L) immediately deliver COVID-19 vaccines from its factories in Britain, in a move that risks reigniting a spat with London over scarce vaccine supplies.

The call came in the opening hearing of the European Commission's legal case in Brussels against the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker over supply delays.

AstraZeneca has missed delivery targets to both Britain and the EU, delaying the bloc's immunisation campaign in particular, and stoking tensions between London and Brussels.

The bloc accuses the company of failing to meet its contractual obligations, whereas AstraZeneca says it is complying with the agreement, which it considers not fully binding.

"We demand deliveries by the end of June and we also demand with immediate effect the use of all plants listed in the contract," EU lawyer Rafael Jafferali told the judge in a hearing room packed with journalists.

"The contract listed a series of plants that had to be used by AstraZeneca and that still today, in breach of the contract, AstraZeneca is not using," the lawyer said.

AstraZeneca lawyer Hakim Boularbah retorted: "There is no obligation to use the factories."

The contract lists four vaccine-making plants, with two of them Britain. Whereas AstraZeneca has delivered doses to the EU from sites in Belgium and the Netherlands, it has not shipped to EU countries any dose produced in UK plants run by Oxford Biomedica (OXB.L) and Cobra Biologics.

The contract also says that a Catalent (CTLT.N) factory in the United States which manufactures AstraZeneca jabs "may serve as a back-up supply site".

EU officials have told Reuters that AstraZeneca justifies the lack of supplies from Britain by citing clauses in its UK contracts that prevent exports of the vaccine it developed with Oxford University.

The UK government has denied export curbs and is seeking extra doses from a factory in the Netherlands run by AstraZeneca's sub-contractor Halix. The EU is now blocking exports from that plant.

The U.S. government has told Brussels it will not export doses to Europe until its vaccine rollout is completed


UNDER-DELIVERING

With the pandemic still raging across the continent, the AstraZeneca vaccine was seen as a central part of Europe's immunisation campaign and a way to send coronavirus shots to poorer countries because of its simple storage requirements.

But cuts and delays in deliveries have disrupted the inoculation campaign in the EU, which trails behind Britain, the United States and Israel on vaccinations.

By the end of March, AstraZeneca had delivered only a quarter of what it had committed to the EU. The company has said it plans to ship a total of 100 million doses to the bloc by the end of June, instead of 300 million foreseen in the contract.

Under Britain's 100-million-dose contract, AstraZeneca was supposed to have delivered 30 million by September 2020, but it had only supplied about five million by the end of last year. One million doses came from EU factories, officials have said.

AstraZeneca has blamed production problems for the delays.

In court, the first session ended in just over an hour and the parties agreed to hold two hearings on May 26. The EU lawyers asked for a decision before the end of June to make sure missing doses could be delivered in a timely fashion.

An EU official told Reuters earlier this week the EU could settle for 130 million doses by the end of June. read more

If no other hearing is necessary, a decision could be made in the weeks following the May 26 hearings.

"AstraZeneca deeply regrets the decision of the European Commission to start this legal action," company lawyer Hakim Boularbah told journalists after the hearing. "We hope to resolve this dispute as soon as possible."

[/quote]

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu ... 021-04-28/

[Saint]

Well, this is going to end well......

[Sandstorm]

Well I'm hoping that we will be able to ditch compulsory wearing of masks completely before too long, but I doubt it'll happen in June. September is a possibility but we're still dependent on the vaccine covering all bases with regard to reduction rapid spread of mutated COVID versions.

What is so hard about wearing a mask on the bus or in the shop? It’s baffling to me how many people consider it like they’re wearing a sandpaper jock strap.

[tabascoboy]

Well I'm hoping that we will be able to ditch compulsory wearing of masks completely before too long, but I doubt it'll happen in June. September is a possibility but we're still dependent on the vaccine covering all bases with regard to reduction rapid spread of mutated COVID versions.

What is so hard about wearing a mask on the bus or in the shop? It’s baffling to me how many people consider it like they’re wearing a sandpaper jock strap.

Agreed it's just minor things like glasses constantly fogging and with some hearing difficulty not being able to hear clearly when people are speaking through a mask, not being able to see people's expressions. Minor inconveniences I'd be happy to see the back of for a little feelgood factor (provided it didn't risk any serious setbacks).

Do we really want to be consigned to mandatory wearing of masks in perpetuity though? The change from mandatory to strongly recommended or voluntary would be one real step towards at least a perceived return to normality, that's the main thing. Ideally this could be devolved to a more localized level according to infection rates, although I know that's probably not practical.

[Uncle fester]

In an argument with a random facebook person. Why do I do this to myself?

Nevertheless, it's led me down some interesting rabbit holes. He's trying to argue that the guy who invented PCR, says it can't be used to detect viruses. When I present him with scientific papers written by the inventor of PCR, using PCR to detect HIV, he's just handwaving it...

I console myself with the thought that maybe someone on the fence is reading this, and coming down the correct side.

It's impossible to win this - they take a quote out of context - in this case that PCR tests don't detect the presence of the virus - and don't read through the full explanation. Which is technically - the PCR test doesn't detect the virus, but genetic material from the virus. And then they totally ignore that if you have enough virus genetic material to be detected, you almost certainly have the virus

Explaining is losing.

[Sandstorm]

Well I'm hoping that we will be able to ditch compulsory wearing of masks completely before too long, but I doubt it'll happen in June. September is a possibility but we're still dependent on the vaccine covering all bases with regard to reduction rapid spread of mutated COVID versions.

What is so hard about wearing a mask on the bus or in the shop? It’s baffling to me how many people consider it like they’re wearing a sandpaper jock strap.

Agreed it's just minor things like glasses constantly fogging and with some hearing difficulty not being able to hear clearly when people are speaking through a mask, not being able to see people's expressions. Minor inconveniences I'd be happy to see the back of for a little feelgood factor (provided it didn't risk any serious setbacks).

Do we really want to be consigned to mandatory wearing of masks in perpetuity though? The change from mandatory to strongly recommended or voluntary would be one real step towards at least a perceived return to normality, that's the main thing. Ideally this could be devolved to a more localized level according to infection rates, although I know that's probably not practical.

We had voluntary/recommended for too long. The second wave was the result of this lax approach.

[BnM]

[b]Belgium was cautioned ahead of time that the EU's contract with drugmaker AstraZeneca didn't include harsh consequences if the company failed to deliver coronavirus vaccines on schedule, according to an opinion the consultancy Deloitte prepared for the Belgian government.

The revelation — detailed in documents acquired through a freedom of information request from the Belgian magazine Knack and analyzed with POLITICO — shows that at least one EU country was told the EU's contract might lack teeth before it was signed. But Belgium ultimately didn't act on these warnings because the contract was already largely completed...

...The opinion also raises questions about the naïveté of EU negotiators, who signed a deal that, compared to one the U.K. inked, didn't spell out specific consequences if the drugmaker under-delivered. The contract even has a clause saying the Commission cannot sue AstraZeneca if it doesn't deliver on time — a clause lawyers believe the Commission will seek to invalidate in a Belgian court. [/b]

https://www.politico.eu/article/belgium ... 1619628689

[Raggs]

[b]Belgium was cautioned ahead of time that the EU's contract with drugmaker AstraZeneca didn't include harsh consequences if the company failed to deliver coronavirus vaccines on schedule, according to an opinion the consultancy Deloitte prepared for the Belgian government.

The revelation — detailed in documents acquired through a freedom of information request from the Belgian magazine Knack and analyzed with POLITICO — shows that at least one EU country was told the EU's contract might lack teeth before it was signed. But Belgium ultimately didn't act on these warnings because the contract was already largely completed...

...The opinion also raises questions about the naïveté of EU negotiators, who signed a deal that, compared to one the U.K. inked, didn't spell out specific consequences if the drugmaker under-delivered. The contract even has a clause saying the Commission cannot sue AstraZeneca if it doesn't deliver on time — a clause lawyers believe the Commission will seek to invalidate in a Belgian court. [/b]

https://www.politico.eu/article/belgium ... 1619628689

I can't imagine that a clause saying you can't sue them is legal. However, even if illegal, I can't imagine it will help the EUs case.

[Biffer]

[b]Belgium was cautioned ahead of time that the EU's contract with drugmaker AstraZeneca didn't include harsh consequences if the company failed to deliver coronavirus vaccines on schedule, according to an opinion the consultancy Deloitte prepared for the Belgian government.

The revelation — detailed in documents acquired through a freedom of information request from the Belgian magazine Knack and analyzed with POLITICO — shows that at least one EU country was told the EU's contract might lack teeth before it was signed. But Belgium ultimately didn't act on these warnings because the contract was already largely completed...

...The opinion also raises questions about the naïveté of EU negotiators, who signed a deal that, compared to one the U.K. inked, didn't spell out specific consequences if the drugmaker under-delivered. The contract even has a clause saying the Commission cannot sue AstraZeneca if it doesn't deliver on time — a clause lawyers believe the Commission will seek to invalidate in a Belgian court. [/b]

https://www.politico.eu/article/belgium ... 1619628689

I can't imagine that a clause saying you can't sue them is legal. However, even if illegal, I can't imagine it will help the EUs case.

You can easily put in something limiting liability, or zero penalty exit clauses etc.

[Saint]

Regardless of the legalities, I still don't really see what the expected win is here - other than to try and reach a point of painting the UK as the bad guys.

Assuming the EU win (and I think that's still up in the air), the UK giv will immediately countersue AZ in UK courts if they attempt to export - and from everything we hear about the UK contract they win that case. And even if they didn't, the UK could theoretically just remove kit from Oxbox shutting down the Oxford Biologica operation, and reinstall it in Harwell which will be up and running by then.
Bear in mind Cobra Biologic isn't manufacturing for undisclosed reasons So that now leaves the UK effectively blocking export to the EU (which I guess gives Ursula her win) with AZ now stuck between two conflicting legal orders.

Ultimately no change in the existing situation, as with the UK able to block lipid exports to the EU and therefore close down Pfizer production for both sides, it's stalemate.

That being the case, this is just a colossal waste of time and money invested in pure optics designed to shift blame from the EU towards the UK

[shaggy]

[b]Belgium was cautioned ahead of time that the EU's contract with drugmaker AstraZeneca didn't include harsh consequences if the company failed to deliver coronavirus vaccines on schedule, according to an opinion the consultancy Deloitte prepared for the Belgian government.

The revelation — detailed in documents acquired through a freedom of information request from the Belgian magazine Knack and analyzed with POLITICO — shows that at least one EU country was told the EU's contract might lack teeth before it was signed. But Belgium ultimately didn't act on these warnings because the contract was already largely completed...

...The opinion also raises questions about the naïveté of EU negotiators, who signed a deal that, compared to one the U.K. inked, didn't spell out specific consequences if the drugmaker under-delivered. The contract even has a clause saying the Commission cannot sue AstraZeneca if it doesn't deliver on time — a clause lawyers believe the Commission will seek to invalidate in a Belgian court. [/b]

https://www.politico.eu/article/belgium ... 1619628689

I can't imagine that a clause saying you can't sue them is legal. However, even if illegal, I can't imagine it will help the EUs case.

You can easily put in something limiting liability, or zero penalty exit clauses etc.

Hold harmless clauses are commonly used.

[Enzedder]

Well, this is going to end well......

If it ends in war, we're not coming this time.

[Slick]

Well, this is going to end well......

If it ends in war, we're not coming this time.

The Axis of Xi-vil?

[Glaston]

Regardless of the legalities, I still don't really see what the expected win is here - other than to try and reach a point of painting the UK as the bad guys.

Assuming the EU win (and I think that's still up in the air), the UK giv will immediately countersue AZ in UK courts if they attempt to export - and from everything we hear about the UK contract they win that case. And even if they didn't, the UK could theoretically just remove kit from Oxbox shutting down the Oxford Biologica operation, and reinstall it in Harwell which will be up and running by then.
Bear in mind Cobra Biologic isn't manufacturing for undisclosed reasons So that now leaves the UK effectively blocking export to the EU (which I guess gives Ursula her win) with AZ now stuck between two conflicting legal orders.

Ultimately no change in the existing situation, as with the UK able to block lipid exports to the EU and therefore close down Pfizer production for both sides, it's stalemate.

That being the case, this is just a colossal waste of time and money invested in pure optics designed to shift blame from the EU towards the UK

I read that the German Lipids factory is up and running to make stuff for Pfizer

[Saint]

Regardless of the legalities, I still don't really see what the expected win is here - other than to try and reach a point of painting the UK as the bad guys.

Assuming the EU win (and I think that's still up in the air), the UK giv will immediately countersue AZ in UK courts if they attempt to export - and from everything we hear about the UK contract they win that case. And even if they didn't, the UK could theoretically just remove kit from Oxbox shutting down the Oxford Biologica operation, and reinstall it in Harwell which will be up and running by then.
Bear in mind Cobra Biologic isn't manufacturing for undisclosed reasons So that now leaves the UK effectively blocking export to the EU (which I guess gives Ursula her win) with AZ now stuck between two conflicting legal orders.

Ultimately no change in the existing situation, as with the UK able to block lipid exports to the EU and therefore close down Pfizer production for both sides, it's stalemate.

That being the case, this is just a colossal waste of time and money invested in pure optics designed to shift blame from the EU towards the UK

I read that the German Lipids factory is up and running to make stuff for Pfizer

Less than 3 months ago Pfizer were saying 9 months to bring it up to speed. Even if they've managed to shorten that, there's a question of volume

[Calculon]

I used to work in a lab so to me this is pretty cool. An article looking inside the biontech factory

https://time.com/5955247/inside-biontec ... -facility/

[Saint]

Well I'm hoping that we will be able to ditch compulsory wearing of masks completely before too long, but I doubt it'll happen in June. September is a possibility but we're still dependent on the vaccine covering all bases with regard to reduction rapid spread of mutated COVID versions.

Hearing there might be a flu/respiratory bug kicking around the SH causing a few concerns, particularly for kids, the s coming winter. I suspect we will be wearing masks, cleaning hands and socially distancing in some form throughout the winter months. There might be a respite over the summer re mask wearing etc but having had little if any flu or respiratory viruses this winter we could be in for a bit of a hit this coming winter. Most folk, mistakenly, suggest we treat covid19 like the flu but realistically we should be treating the flu like covid19 going forward. Mask wearing etc in densely populated locations might be here for longer than folk think.

Yeah, and the flu vaccination is going to be a real stab in the dark this winter with no disease patterns to project from. I think we may have a very bad flu season either this winter or next.

Actually I found the WHO recommendation form the NH 21/22 season. There's fairly clear patterns to the data, albeit the overall numbers are much lower than normal so they've made a clear recommendation. The risk is that because the levels were very low that it would be relatively easy for a different variant to grow rapidly

[Biffer]

Hearing there might be a flu/respiratory bug kicking around the SH causing a few concerns, particularly for kids, the s coming winter. I suspect we will be wearing masks, cleaning hands and socially distancing in some form throughout the winter months. There might be a respite over the summer re mask wearing etc but having had little if any flu or respiratory viruses this winter we could be in for a bit of a hit this coming winter. Most folk, mistakenly, suggest we treat covid19 like the flu but realistically we should be treating the flu like covid19 going forward. Mask wearing etc in densely populated locations might be here for longer than folk think.

Yeah, and the flu vaccination is going to be a real stab in the dark this winter with no disease patterns to project from. I think we may have a very bad flu season either this winter or next.

Actually I found the WHO recommendation form the NH 21/22 season. There's fairly clear patterns to the data, albeit the overall numbers are much lower than normal so they've made a clear recommendation. The risk is that because the levels were very low that it would be relatively easy for a different variant to grow rapidly

Yeah, I don't know a huge amount about how the modelling works, if it's as effective on low numbers then great, but I'd expect the error bars will be bigger, and there'll be more space in the market for a different flu strain to run wild.

[Calculon]

Germany vaccinating 1.1 million people on Wednesday

[Sandstorm]

Germany vaccinating 1.1 million people on Wednesday

1st national lockdown got them off their arses and down to the clinic.

[Raggs]

Germany vaccinating 1.1 million people on Wednesday

That's impressive! Hopefully they can keep that rate up!

[Saint]

England vaccine rollout extended to all over 40s

[S/Lt_Phillips]

England vaccine rollout extended to all over 40s

Feeling somewhat left behind in Scotland now. I'm 48 and not had a blue envelope yet, while England & Wales are forging ahead with anyone over 40 and NI is jagging people in their 30s. Not sure what the hold up is.

The SG is claiming that sending invitations by post is better than individuals being able to book their own appointment, but I have to say I would be much happier if I had the ability to set a date in the diary (even if its a fortnight hence and turns out to be no sooner than the date in the fabled blue envelope). Ho hum.

[tc27]

England vaccine rollout extended to all over 40s

Feeling somewhat left behind in Scotland now. I'm 48 and not had a blue envelope yet, while England & Wales are forging ahead with anyone over 40 and NI is jagging people in their 30s. Not sure what the hold up is.

The SG is claiming that sending invitations by post is better than individuals being able to book their own appointment, but I have to say I would be much happier if I had the ability to set a date in the diary (even if its a fortnight hence and turns out to be no sooner than the date in the fabled blue envelope). Ho hum.

Its odd - everyone has the same relative stocks levels. I thought one positive of the UKs fragmented public health response might be seeing the effect of different approaches and matching the best one but it does require governments to make changes quickly.

[Slick]

England vaccine rollout extended to all over 40s

Feeling somewhat left behind in Scotland now. I'm 48 and not had a blue envelope yet, while England & Wales are forging ahead with anyone over 40 and NI is jagging people in their 30s. Not sure what the hold up is.

The SG is claiming that sending invitations by post is better than individuals being able to book their own appointment, but I have to say I would be much happier if I had the ability to set a date in the diary (even if its a fortnight hence and turns out to be no sooner than the date in the fabled blue envelope). Ho hum.

I'm guessing that the decision to do non paid carers after the 50's has slowed things up. I know from a few friends that got jabbed as a non paid carer, and my own experience, that a few of the jabbing centres were virtually empty in the last week or so.

[Openside]

Regardless of the legalities, I still don't really see what the expected win is here - other than to try and reach a point of painting the UK as the bad guys.

Assuming the EU win (and I think that's still up in the air), the UK giv will immediately countersue AZ in UK courts if they attempt to export - and from everything we hear about the UK contract they win that case. And even if they didn't, the UK could theoretically just remove kit from Oxbox shutting down the Oxford Biologica operation, and reinstall it in Harwell which will be up and running by then.
Bear in mind Cobra Biologic isn't manufacturing for undisclosed reasons So that now leaves the UK effectively blocking export to the EU (which I guess gives Ursula her win) with AZ now stuck between two conflicting legal orders.

Ultimately no change in the existing situation, as with the UK able to block lipid exports to the EU and therefore close down Pfizer production for both sides, it's stalemate.

That being the case, this is just a colossal waste of time and money invested in pure optics designed to shift blame from the EU towards the UK

I still can't get my head round why the EU is so panty bunched about this , they have rubbished the vaccine anyway. They are like people moaning that the food at their hotel is inedible and the portion sizes are tiny....

[S/Lt_Phillips]

England vaccine rollout extended to all over 40s

Feeling somewhat left behind in Scotland now. I'm 48 and not had a blue envelope yet, while England & Wales are forging ahead with anyone over 40 and NI is jagging people in their 30s. Not sure what the hold up is.

The SG is claiming that sending invitations by post is better than individuals being able to book their own appointment, but I have to say I would be much happier if I had the ability to set a date in the diary (even if its a fortnight hence and turns out to be no sooner than the date in the fabled blue envelope). Ho hum.

I'm guessing that the decision to do non paid carers after the 50's has slowed things up. I know from a few friends that got jabbed as a non paid carer, and my own experience, that a few of the jabbing centres were virtually empty in the last week or so.

So if the vaccination centres are empty, then the SG's system doesn't seem to be working too well (unless there's a shortage of vaccine, which I'm not hearing about).

And it's frustrating that no-one seems to be challenging the SG on this - which is the usual state of affairs up here (straying towards the Scottish politics thread here, sorry).

[Raggs]

Feeling somewhat left behind in Scotland now. I'm 48 and not had a blue envelope yet, while England & Wales are forging ahead with anyone over 40 and NI is jagging people in their 30s. Not sure what the hold up is.

The SG is claiming that sending invitations by post is better than individuals being able to book their own appointment, but I have to say I would be much happier if I had the ability to set a date in the diary (even if its a fortnight hence and turns out to be no sooner than the date in the fabled blue envelope). Ho hum.

I'm guessing that the decision to do non paid carers after the 50's has slowed things up. I know from a few friends that got jabbed as a non paid carer, and my own experience, that a few of the jabbing centres were virtually empty in the last week or so.

So if the vaccination centres are empty, then the SG's system doesn't seem to be working too well (unless there's a shortage of vaccine, which I'm not hearing about).

And it's frustrating that no-one seems to be challenging the SG on this - which is the usual state of affairs up here (straying towards the Scottish politics thread here, sorry).

Considering UK vaccination rates are averaging over 500k a day, and slowly increasing, I can't imagine it's due to shortage at the moment.