Covid vaccination

[beejay]

Was told by a neighbour that guys hospital are giving vaccinations to anyone who phones them, apparently lots of people are not turning up for their covid jabs and Guys say they will go to waste, also from what i have been told a minister from a church in Peckham has been told to pass message onto her congregation, not sure how much of this is true.

[Peckhampam]

As I understand it there is a dedicated line for people in the SE London area who are over 70. The number is (Number removed by request from the NHS - Admin) and you will need your NHS number to hand - if you are lucky enough to get through

[ianr]

It would be very helpful if someone who gets through to this number can report back here on what they say.

[Peckhampam]

Yes. I got through. You need your NHS number, an SE postcode and to be over 70. But it takes a lot of perseverance as the lines are constantly busy.

[ianr]

Thanks. But what's actually on offer? If their aim is solely waste-avoidance I'd expect, or at least hope, the availability of jabs to be sporadic and somewhat unpredictable. So do they say they'll call you if you can turn up at an hour's notice, or something like that? Or "Turn up any time today", or "Sorry, nothing doing today; try again some other time"? Or give you an appointment regardlesss? Or ...?

[Peckhampam]

They give you an appointment (mine was for 4 days later) and they also give you an appointment for 12 weeks after that for the booster.

[beejay]

Do they tell you if it is Oxford Astra Zenical one or Pfizer inj Pam?

[Peckhampam]

No!

They will obviously tell you when you have it. I must say, I didn't ask on the phone when I got the appt.

[ianr]

Got through today, to my surprise, after numerous tries over two days, and was told that their qualifying age is actually 75. I guess thay might have revised their previous policy as being over-inclusive. But thanks for the info Pp.

But it would still be useful to know when they drop down to treating the over-70s. They might even then be ahead of local facilities in appointment availability. And they might still be using the Pfizer vaccine, which I'm quite interested in trying, while smaller venues will most probably be using the vaccines that are easier to handle.

[Hassie]

Sounds as though they have raised the bar then. I am aware of a local 70 yr old who got through and successfully booked an appt.

[zog]

My 72 year old mum had her first jab y'day at Guy's. She called last week (she said she tried over 100 times). It might be they've bumped the age up since then. I expect if they have changed the age it will be only be temporary so probably worth trying (if you have the time!) She was given the Pfizer vaccine and her follow up is at the end of March.

As a side point, she said the team were brilliant there and it felt very safe (good social distancing, thorough cleaning of chairs etc). Good luck to any of you trying :)

[ab29]

The only vaccine offered at Guy's is Pfizer. GSTT gets thousands of calls every day on the vaccination helpline so pls be patient when calling - it might take a while to get through.

[Lynne]

people of the right age were walking into Guys this morning to book appointments. They seem to be taking 70+

[ianr]

> They seem to be taking 70+

They are. Managed to get though to them today at 2.20 to ask, and got a 3.45 appointment at St Thomas's. The queueing time was only half an hour, and all well organised. Wahey.

[beansprout]

Do you have to provide any proof?

[EDGman]

beansprout Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Do you have to provide any proof?

When you phone up, they ask for your NHS number plus several other questions. They can look up your NHS number instantly and verify your eligibility.

[mybaby178]

I called last Sunday for my parents and they both had their first jab last Tuesday . When I called up the lady said it was for over 70?s but as of last Thursday this changed to over 75?s- no doubt it will change again .

When I booked my parents appointment I was offered the choice of the 2 vaccines - Pfizer is at Guys and the Oxford one is at St Thomas?s.

Although the hotline number is for Guys the vaccination clinic is not actually in the hospital which confused my parents when they got there .

However both said it was very efficient and they were seen on time and felt very safe going there.

[Sue]

Hooray! Got my Covid jab appointments! First one Friday ((could have gone tomorrow but needed time to mentally prepare, lol).

All very efficient, done by text, choice of hospital, day and time 🙂

I'm in the over 70 group, no idea if it was quicker as I'm also in the extremely vulnerable group.

Oooops, edited to say Covid not Flu, DUH.

[Sue]

AAARRRGGGHHH! Booked for St Thomas's on the basis I'd only have to get one bus rather than two, so probably less risky in terms of contact, and then saw in a post above that I'll get the Oxford vaccine rather than the Pfzizer.

Googling, it all seems a bit unclear what the likely immunity situation is after you've had both doses.

Not sure whether I should try to change! Anybody got any views?

[ianr]

My vaccination at St Thomas's, arranged and done yesterday, was definitely the Pfizer vaccine.

ETA: I didn't know in advance and was quite happy to take pot luck, on the basis that (a) there wasn't a huge difference between the reported efficacies; (b) no-one's likely to know of any definite differences, in any particular, until we have accumulated oodles of vaccination outcome data; © there's always scope for future rectification, if needed; (d) my main worry is avoiding permanent organ damage or long covid, and I'm trusting that both the available vaccines, even a single dose, will substantially reduce that risk.

[Sue]

Thanks, ianr x

[womanofdulwich]

Ive heard that at the end of the day some places have spare vaccines due to no shows. Im not high priority but Id take my jab now if it was about to be thrown away-I can be at Kings within 45 mins for example.But I don't want to get there to be told no . Does anyone know about this? could you DM if you prefer.

Thanks

[Nigello]

Ianr - congrats, first of all - was it all arranged and done on the same day, or did you ring up one, two, three days earlier?

[Sue]

Also Ianr, did you have to go through the main entrance to get to the North Wing, or is there another entrance round the side?

It isn't clear from the map they linked to from the text they sent me.

There is a little yellow circle on the side of the North Wing nearest the river, with an arrow saying St Thomas' Vaccination Centre, but it's not clear whether that is just telling you to go to the North Wing, or whether that is a side entrance to the Wing so that you don't have to go into the rest of the hospital?

Hopefully it will be well signposted as you arrive, though?

[Lynne]

Had my jab at Guys yesterday as a result of persistently trying that number. Didn't help that the train from ED Station was cancelled, but still got there in time. Very efficient considering how busy everyone was (unlike the train service)