[328/366] vacciiiine

[cosmolinguist]

Andrew is super excited about the Oxford vaccine news, since that's the one this country has the most of, and it's easiest to store and cheapest, so it speeds up when he can expect to leave the house again.

But he's more excited that, even by the time he's expecting his first dose in January, other higher risk people will already be completely immune because they're talking about starting to vaccinate people next week

Comments

[steorra]

Yay!

[barakta]

I am quite pleased about a lot of this too. Not sure it'll be January but it'll potentially be soon. I think herd immunity effect by vaccination will be VERY cool...

[cosmolinguist]

Oh it won't be January for everyone of course -- he guessed March for me, possibly having forgotten I'm technically a carer and might be a little higher on the list for that. But Andrew is immunosuppressed so he should be relatively high on the list.

[barakta]

Fingers crossed. I'm keeping a close eye on how they distribute vaccines and decide who gets what given doses, logistics, risks etc.

All good news tho on the whole. I hope you both get prompt vaccines!

[davidgillon]

As a carer, you're actually priority 2*, as a high risk adult of working age, Andrew is only priority 6, after every OAP. Yes, this doesn't make sense. The site for the vaccine task force that lists priority groups is https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/priority-groups-for-coronavirus-covid-19-vaccination-advice-from-the-jcvi-25-september-2020/jcvi-updated-interim-advice-on-priority-groups-for-covid-19-vaccination

Baroness Campbell (herself clinically extremely vulnerable) was trying to ask a question about it in the Lords, I'm not sure if she's managed yet. See https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/sickening-vaccine-priority-list-shows-disabled-people-are-disposable/

Separately I've also heard the head of the vaccine task force saying that people who are immuno-suppressed won't get the vaccine, they'll get an antibody cocktail instead. Presumably this is because their immune systems aren't necessarily able to take advantage of the vaccine to produce the antibodies themselves.

And they need MHRA approval before they can vaccinate anyone. I'd be surprised if that's in place before mid-late December.

* Or should be, the government keep forgetting carers who work in the community, particularly if they're directly employed by people funded by direct payments.

[cosmolinguist]

the government keep forgetting carers who work in the community, particularly if they're directly employed by people funded by direct payments.

Yeah, and that's exactly what I am, hence my "technically..." :)

[theandrewhickey]

Yeah, that last bit is why I've been assuming a later date for Cosmo than for me.

[theandrewhickey]

The provisional timetable, as reported by the Torygraph based on government plans (so take with as many pinches of salt as seem necessary) is:

Care home residents and staff, healthcare workers – from the beginning of December.
Aged 80 and above – from mid-December.
Everyone aged 70 to 80 – from late December.
Everyone aged 65 to 70 – from early January.
All high and moderate risk under-65s – from early January.
Everyone aged 50 to 65 – from mid-January.
Everyone aged 18 to 50 – from late January, but with the bulk of this group vaccinated during March.

I fit in "All high and moderate risk under-65s", or at least I assume I do (I got on the government priority list for food deliveries, but I had to ask, and wasn't put on it automagically -- I have four separate risk factors (autoimmune disease treated with immunosuppressants, asthma, hypertension, "obesity") but none particularly badly), so I'm assuming some time in January for my first slot.

[otter]

Wow! A glimmer of hope.

[rmc28]

Is vacciiiine to rhyme with Jolene ?

[cosmolinguist]

That wasn't exactly what I was thinking of but...yes. :)

[rmc28]

Ever since I found out Dolly Parton helped fund vaccine research, I've had a little earworm of the chorus to Jolene except vacciiine, you see, and I wasn't sure if I'd found another carrier of the earworm ...

[cosmolinguist]

Oh yes, I had heard that about Dolly Parton but then forgot it before I could connect the dots. Well this is definitely what I'll be singing, and why I'll be earwormed with it, from now on anyway!

[silveradept]

It'll be good to have vaccinations available and being administered. Makes everything seem so much better and life we might have an end near.

[gender_euphoric]

That's the vaccine I got as part of a clinical trial!

[cosmolinguist]

Oh cool! Thank you for helping. :)

I'm so afraid of needles I could never do a vaccine trial because I'd be so angry at the possibility of going through that just to get nothing if I was in the control group. So I especially admire everyone who could contribute to this.

[azurelunatic]

*crossing fingers, etc.*

[ivy]

Fantastic! Celebrations all around.