COVID Vaccine !

[lazybloke]

Interesting article on vials - they have to be chemically inert and resist shards of glass inside.

They have enough raw materials so it's a matter of ramping up production

https://cen.acs.org/materials/Vials-vital-COVID-19-vaccine/98/i37

Interested to see they are borosilicate glass. Last time I looked, my local refuse centre wouldn't take the stuff except for landfill so that might answer my question about recycling. Reuse sounds like a qa nightmare.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Shortage of vials reported by the BBC 6 days ago, affecting fill and finish (Prof Jonathan Van-Tam says fill and finish was a "critically short resource across the globe)
Of course I don't think this is easy, <<snip>>
So with that context in mind, excuse me if I'm disappointed by what I see as avoidable issues reported in the press.

May 2020 - shortage of vials: bang up to date and relevant (and worth pointing up) then.
The next 31 Dec link is just the 'i' puffing up one of its September stories so they can say 'told you so' but with no current 'evidence'.
From the BBC report (5 Jan 21) to which you shared the link:
" process called fill and finish whereby the vaccine is put into vials and packaged up for use . . . there is already a concern . . . with the availability of key ingredients and equipment including glass vials a key issue.
England's deputy chief medical officer Prof Jonathan Van-Tam says fill and finish was a "critically short resource across the globe".
Process - tick
Availability of vials: It is of course a key issue - tick. A concern? Was a concern (early December), not a concern now (for UK anyway), had been addressed by inter alia, the UK Vaccines procurement task force led by Kate Bingham - who said on the radio last week (roughly) - "not a problem, do you think we are stupid not to address the whole chain of procurement to delivery?" Maybe you are concerned about vial availability in the rest of the world - no doubt there will be a variety of issues, fo which 'fill and finish' is but one. You can't reuse vials, btw. And JvT said nothing about a shortage of vials per se.
I don't doubt that vial supply is a critical element. But can find no current expression of concern.
As for the rant on the mistakes government have made, I wish your grandmother well - but it's got f all to do with rolling out a huge nation-wide, then world wide (UK well to the fore on that too, especially at Oxford-AZ 'at cost' prices) vaccination programme which you implied was being ballsed-up (I paraphrase) even though they'd had "almost a year to plan it". Let's look forward to a cunning plan (which is now transparently shared), delivered effectively across our United Kingdom, at amazing pace: no doubt with bumps on the road to lift one's fork over to smooth out the ride.

 

[lazybloke]

<snip>

Thanks. I'guess I'm happy to take it on trust that the shortage of vials has been addressed, but if you want to reassure folk then a link would have been nice.

 

[fossyant]

MIL had her first vacation today. Phew.

 

[potsy]

MIL had her first vacation today. Phew.

Where did she go?

 

[mikeIow]

Where did she go?

We booked to go to Iceland next week.
Fingers crossed: if it goes well, we will try Asda the week after, then Tesco....

Back on topic: MIL in Nottingham, 88, COPD, ‘at risk’, still waiting to hear: feels like Nottingham has been a bit rubbish

& I do wish they insisted on completing the 2 doses for all: Pfizer stated they could not guarantee the efficacy without the second dose within 3 weeks, & WHO backed that up: SAGE and Boris very specifically going *against* the science in deciding to just roll out 1 dose as widely as possible first
Time will tell, but that has scientific potential to be a proper big mistake.....

 

[mjr]

Most people not keeping 2m distance in the queue for Stevenage mass vaccination centre. Also complaining it is cold in January.

Big praise to the man in the green jacket.

 

[Unkraut]

I do wish they insisted on completing the 2 doses for all: Pfizer stated they could not guarantee the efficacy without the second dose within 3 weeks, & WHO backed that up: SAGE and Boris very specifically going *against* the science in deciding to just roll out 1 dose as widely as possible first ...

Postponing the second dose has been considered here, but at present rejected for the reason you give - it is not certain just how effective the vaccine with be before the second installment.

With the current high infection rate in the UK I suspect Boris is not so much going against the science as taking a calculated risk that more people with a less effective vaccine immunity is better than fewer people with the full effect.

 

[rualexander]

A question posed by Dr John Campbell in his video series on youtube today was why they don't use bigger vials with more doses in them if they are short of the vials they are using currently.

 

[Blue Hills]

MIL had her first vacation today. Phew.

Congrats. Good news despite the delay is that the clock is at least now ticking for the second jab. Would be interested in when folks get second jabs, how long after first.

 

[Blue Hills]

Most people not keeping 2m distance in the queue for Stevenage mass vaccination centre. Also complaining it is cold in January.
View attachment 568504
Big praise to the man in the green jacket.

From a quick look that looks ok, the couples may live together.

 

[winjim]

If this pandemic has taught me anything it's that people are really crap at estimating short distances.

 

[nickyboy]

Good news this morning. Got text from our GP advising that son#2 could book a vaccination appointment for today or tomorrow. Presumably these short notice appointments are due to postponing 2nd doses or something similar

Went online and system wouldn't allow as he "isn't over 80". Quick call to GP and they sorted it. Tomorrow morning at the local cricket club. He's delighted.

All very efficient. Hopefully same tomorrow

Edit to add: I've been notified this is my 10,000th post so it's nice that it's a good news one. I can't believe I've wasted so much time on CC over the years

 

[SpokeyDokey]

It is the best. But as presentations of statistics go it's terrible.

You have a time series of data. You have been preparing to release this time series for the last nine months. It's the most important data you will release all year so that the country has confidence in your ability to protect them. It's really important to know trends in the data. Do you:
(a) Release the data each day as a list, showing daily incremental and cumulative data points, by date of dose and date of reporting so that it's absolutely clear how many doses have been given when to whom? or
(b) Release the data ad-hoc, showing only data to date, with no breakdown of reporting date or vaccination date, with inconsistencies between different data dumps?


Direct link to the actual document rather than the government PR machine's spin on the document: https://assets.publishing.service.g...951284/UK_COVID-19_vaccines_delivery_plan.pdf

Likewise the rollout of this vaccine is the most important and development in public health in a decade. Getting it right is essential, and gaining public confidence that you know what you're doing is even more important. Your efforts to date have not met the targets you have set and have been met by the public with some scepticism. Do you:
(a) Release the rollout plan in advance of starting the vaccination programme, making it short, accessible, factual and with clear measurable targets that are convincing and clearly stated? or
(b) Release the rollout plan a month after the rollout started, making it long, wordy, full of jargon, stuffed full of irrelevant callout sections on how wonderful and - yes "world-leading" (twice) your country's response has been, including quotes from "Major Button" and someone unidentified saying "So well organised"?

Buried somewhere within that 47-page report there is the 10-page plan it was before the ministers got at it.

Thanks very much. Have added the direct link to the sticky.

 

[MrGrumpy]

Mother is now booked for Saturday, seems to be rolling out with speed now. Still not sure about the gap in between jabs ?! No choice now as government have decided for us . I`m way down the pecking order just !! Shall see though the big 50 awaits this summer.