COVID-19: Vaccine/antidote and testing procedures Megathread [Mod Warning - Post #1]

BeefeaterHat

https://www.rte.ie/news/2020/1213/1184225-ronan-glynn-vaccines/

Micheal with the excuses a the ready. By comparison, Japan hope to have 120 million people vaccinated by the summer time and the UK are already getting people vaccinated. Watch now and while the rest of Europe goes back to normal, the HSE and nphet and the government will be putting on a modern day carry on film while they shamble about.

cgcsb

The BBC seems to hint at April as a date for widespread uptake of the vaccine. I notice RTÉ mention June today. June just seems a really long way off considering the rolling lock downs. Also surely a country as sparsely populated as Ireland can roll it out faster than the UK and it's 70 million people??

I'm assuming once the vulnerable are vaccinated then restrictions will go, what do people think?

leahyl

Henryq. wrote: »

At this stage we'd be better off with press conferences on vaccine rollout and not covid numbers

Absolutely, there is no need for these press conferences anymore. We need to hear about vaccine rollout and what is planned and we need to know that they are ready to move as soon as EMA approve it.

Henryq.

cgcsb wrote: »

The BBC seems to hint at April as a date for widespread uptake of the vaccine. I notice RTÉ mention June today. June just seems a really long way off considering the rolling lock downs. Also surely a country as sparsely populated as Ireland can roll it out faster than the UK and it's 70 million people??

I'm assuming once the vulnerable are vaccinated then restrictions will go, what do people think?

We seem to be very short on detail at this late stage

We should have a national plan ready to go by now

How many are trained and enlisted to administer the vaccine?

daydorunrun

Quick question on testing-

Is it possible to get a test anomalously? Or is it the case that all details of private testing are being recorded.

Getting a pre Christmas test done but don't want any potential postive result effecting things like health and life insurance as I'm drawing down on a new mortgage in January and one of the questions on the life insurance is 'have you been diagnosed with Covid 19 in the last 6 months.

BeefeaterHat

cgcsb wrote: »

The BBC seems to hint at April as a date for widespread uptake of the vaccine. I notice RTÉ mention June today. June just seems a really long way off considering the rolling lock downs. Also surely a country as sparsely populated as Ireland can roll it out faster than the UK and it's 70 million people??

I'm assuming once the vulnerable are vaccinated then restrictions will go, what do people think?

That's what should happen but unfortunately our health services are run by complete and utter morons who couldn't run a bath so we'll have to deal with this farce a little bit longer than other countries

cgcsb

Henryq. wrote: »

We seem to be very short on detail at this late stage

We should have a national plan ready to go by now

How many are trained and enlisted to administer the vaccine?

The UK is currently relying on a large staff of volunteers, retired nurses, red cross etc. and converting sports stadiums to administer it in large numbers. Haven't heard of any such ramp up of capacity from the HSE. We're 2 weeks from approval apparently and not much info available. Places outside Europe are plowing ahead. Even the USA with notoriously difficult and expensive access to medication.

stephenjmcd

cgcsb wrote: »

The BBC seems to hint at April as a date for widespread uptake of the vaccine. I notice RTÉ mention June today. June just seems a really long way off considering the rolling lock downs. Also surely a country as sparsely populated as Ireland can roll it out faster than the UK and it's 70 million people??

I'm assuming once the vulnerable are vaccinated then restrictions will go, what do people think?

What was said was an interview with Martin this morning on rte.

He said enough for priority groups in the early stages with larger volumes arriving March through April, May and June and what they expect is in the May / June period to be fully open.

I don't often agree with what he says but he's probably right on that timeline I'd say.

seamus

BeefeaterHat wrote: »

https://www.rte.ie/news/2020/1213/1184225-ronan-glynn-vaccines/

Micheal with the excuses a the ready. By comparison, Japan hope to have 120 million people vaccinated by the summer time and the UK are already getting people vaccinated. Watch now and while the rest of Europe goes back to normal, the HSE and nphet and the government will be putting on a modern day carry on film while they shamble about.

He's just setting realistic expectations. Some people will assume vaccine approval means game over, and restrictions can start being lifted.

Every country will (does) have a severely limited supply until mid-Spring at the earliest. Japan will have half of their population vaccinated by the end of June (120 million doses). We're planning on 80% by September. Which is about the same, if not slightly ahead.

It's incredible that before we even start anything, Irish people are so desperate to declare ourselves a failure.

seamus

daydorunrun wrote: »

Quick question on testing-

Is it possible to get a test anomalously? Or is it the case that all details of private testing are being recorded.

Getting a pre Christmas test done but don't want any potential postive result effecting things like health and life insurance as I'm drawing down on a new mortgage in January and one of the questions on the life insurance is 'have you been diagnosed with Covid 19 in the last 6 months.

All tests are anonymous. Neither the HSE nor your GP are entitled to reveal medical details to an insurer without your consent.

Whether you tell the insurer about it, is between you and them. If you have already obtained an insurance policy and paid your first premium you don't have to tell them unless the policy document explicitly says you do.

https://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/unternehmen/curevac-corona-impfstoff-studie-phase3-101.html

CureVac moving to Phase III. 35,000 participants across Europe and Latin America. Results expected by end of Q1 2021.

cgcsb

seamus wrote: »

He's just setting realistic expectations. Some people will assume vaccine approval means game over, and restrictions can start being lifted.

Every country will (does) have a severely limited supply until mid-Spring at the earliest. Japan will have half of their population vaccinated by the end of June (120 million doses). We're planning on 80% by September. Which is about the same, if not slightly ahead.

It's incredible that before we even start anything, Irish people are so desperate to declare ourselves a failure.

Agreed, there's a propensity for negativity in Ireland at the best of times so during a pandemic, obviously it's going to be worse.

I would hope that by spring time there'd be enough vaccinations to justify lifting of restrictions and we can have a normal summer. There'll be some rush on the holiday industry I bet.

bridest

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166354220302011


https://youtu.be/Tq8SXOBy-4w

begbysback

Henryq. wrote: »

We seem to be very short on detail at this late stage

We should have a national plan ready to go by now

How many are trained and enlisted to administer the vaccine?

There’s plenty of lads along the boardwalk who could assist with their expertise.

shameless liberal

Hi all,
Very much appreciate any advice on this please.

Working from home but have housemates. Limiting contacts but can't legitimately ask them to limit theirs. Heading home down country next week for first time in about 6 months (parents elderly though otherwise not especially at risk).

Hoping for their peace of mind more than my own to do a private PCR test early next week. Struggling to find any availability online. Have tried Randox (no availability) and car currently out of action meaning Ashbourne and Airport a bit tricky (though not impossible). Based in Dublin 6 but can cycle anywhere really.

TMB and CodeBlue awaiting response. Asked Mater Private (but only for patients even though they're charging, which is weird) and Beacon is €250 (absolute charlatans!)

Any hot tips? Thanks!

nialldinho

shameless liberal wrote: »

Hi all,
Very much appreciate any advice on this please.

Working from home but have housemates. Limiting contacts but can't legitimately ask them to limit theirs. Heading home down country next week for first time in about 6 months (parents elderly though otherwise not especially at risk).

Hoping for their peace of mind more than my own to do a private PCR test early next week. Struggling to find any availability online. Have tried Randox (no availability) and car currently out of action meaning Ashbourne and Airport a bit tricky (though not impossible). Based in Dublin 6 but can cycle anywhere really.

TMB and CodeBlue awaiting response. Asked Mater Private (but only for patients even though they're charging, which is weird) and Beacon is €250 (absolute charlatans!)

Any hot tips? Thanks!

There is a Vida drive through just set up in the car park behind the Coach House pub in Ballinteer if that’s any use. I’m assuming it’s for COVID testing!

https://vidacare.ie/

jellybear

Boots are doing them in select stores. You can book online.
Dublin, Dawson St
Cork Half Moon Street
Galway, Knocknacarra
Donegal, Letterkenny Retail Park
Kildare, Naas Monread Shopping Centre
Meath, Ashbourne
Offaly, Tullamore

shameless liberal

nialldinho wrote: »

There is a Vida drive through just set up in the car park behind the Coach House pub in Ballinteer if that’s any use. I’m assuming it’s for COVID testing!

https://vidacare.ie/

Brilliant thanks - taking a look now! This one wasn't as well advertised!

shameless liberal

jellybear wrote: »

Boots are doing them in select stores. You can book online.
Dublin, Dawson St
Cork Half Moon Street
Galway, Knocknacarra
Donegal, Letterkenny Retail Park
Kildare, Naas Monread Shopping Centre
Meath, Ashbourne
Offaly, Tullamore

Thanks a million. Looks like the Dawson St one is booked up certainly until after Christmas. Same as many options at the minute! Appreciate the post.

The chan chan man

I thought the tests weren’t accurate until 5-6 days after exposure? As such it still leaves a risk/doubt in your mind.

shameless liberal

The chan chan man wrote: »

I thought the tests weren’t accurate until 5-6 days after exposure? As such it still leaves a risk/doubt in your mind.

For sure you're right. My risk is low given distancing from housemates. The only unknown variable or risk really is from them. Not fool proof and you're right, but it's something and I've been following these rules for so long my folks and I are happy with that smidgeon of risk.

Richard Hillman

We signed up to a system where vaccines won't just go to the wealthiest countries first. The alpha countries like UK, Japan, USA, Russia, China etc will go first because they prioritise their own countries before others.

We are a globalist beta country.

Sky King

seamus wrote: »

. We're planning on 80% by September..

Where did you get this?

I have been looking out for information like this and it's been very hard to come by.

brisan

BrianD3 wrote: »

Yes, Martin was saying on RTE radio that he "wants" and "hopes to be in a position to" start vaccinating within a week of EMA approval. A lot of other non committal language also.
https://www.rte.ie/news/2020/1213/1184225-ronan-glynn-vaccines/

Given the HSE's track record, hoping for and wanting a particular outcome are likely to result in not achieving that outcome.

I'd say there' s a good chance now that we will f*ck up the logistics, hopefully I'm wrong. Getting close to Christmas now too, at this time of the year there's a culture in the public service of winding down and putting things off until the New Year, maybe things will be different this time.

As for the EMA, good to see they are getting some flak. The British will be giving their vulnerable and healthcare workers booster shots while the EMA is having a meeting. Lots of anti British sentiment out there including some on this forum. This is clearly an emergency situation and while the EMA will do a very thorough appraisal of the vaccine, there would seem to be a danger of allowing the "near perfect to become the enemy of the excellent".

The faster the vaccine gets approved, the higher the chances of the HSE/Ireland and other countries getting caught with their pants down re: logistics. We might be more exposed than most given that Ireland was one of only 2 countries of the EU 27 that didn't respond to the EU HSC survey on vaccine rollout preparations.

Its not as the need for a vaccine rollout plan was sprung on the HSE last minute
It was known from last March that a vaccine was the only way out of this
So why wait till late November to form a committee to have meetings to decide a plan to give to Government
This should have been set up in the summer just waiting to be launched when the vaccine became available
I know no one knew the -70 storage and 2 dose necessity but plans should have been in place
I do agree however remote and difficult a way to mess up the plan the HSE will find it and use it

brisan

seamus wrote: »

He's just setting realistic expectations. Some people will assume vaccine approval means game over, and restrictions can start being lifted.

Every country will (does) have a severely limited supply until mid-Spring at the earliest. Japan will have half of their population vaccinated by the end of June (120 million doses). We're planning on 80% by September. Which is about the same, if not slightly ahead.

It's incredible that before we even start anything, Irish people are so desperate to declare ourselves a failure.

Past experience tempers all expectations

cgcsb

It'll be interesting to see how it pans out, most people and the media are only talking about this particular vaccine. mRNA technology is brand new and represents a radical advancement in medicine, not just vaccines but a whole host of new treatments for all sorts of illnesses particularly cancer and age related illness. If the C19 vaccine proves safe and effective then there's a lot more where that came from, exciting times. Particularly exciting for moderna share holders.

ixoy

brisan wrote: »

I know no one knew the -70 storage and 2 dose necessity but plans should have been in place

The cold-storage requirements were known too, such that they could have featured in a plan.

titan18

Richard Hillman wrote: »

We signed up to a system where vaccines won't just go to the wealthiest countries first. The alpha countries like UK, Japan, USA, Russia, China etc will go first because they prioritise their own countries before others.

We are a globalist beta country.

Yup, we're morons imo. People will call it being selfish, but feck it should look after ourselves first rather than paying for vaccines for other countries when we're putting people out of work with the restrictions here.

titan18

titan18 wrote: »

Yup, we're morons imo. People will call it being selfish, but feck it should look after ourselves first rather than paying for vaccines for other countries when we're putting people out of work with the restrictions here.

What do you think the buying power of Ireland means to Pfizer? The EU agreement was the best way to ensure a stable supply of vaccine to smaller countries, including Ireland

titan18

Deleted User wrote: »

What do you think the buying power of Ireland means to Pfizer? The EU agreement was the best way to ensure a stable supply of vaccine to smaller countries, including Ireland

Ya, that's the EU, fine to be grouped with the EU, it makes the most sense. I'm pretty sure what Richard is saying though, and I think it's what's happening, is we're sharing with poorer countries who can't afford theres, so we're subsidising African countries getting a share of the vaccines when we don't have enough for ourselves anyway.

We had signed up as part of the EU to that Covax Alliance, which US and Russia did not, so that's what I thought he meant.

Maybe we're not, but if we are, I think it's silly.

Supercell

Deleted User wrote: »

What do you think the buying power of Ireland means to Pfizer? The EU agreement was the best way to ensure a stable supply of vaccine to smaller countries, including Ireland

Morocco aim to have 80% of their adult population vaccinated THIS month, we are aiming for next September.... Where there is a will, there is a way.

titan18

titan18 wrote: »

Ya, that's the EU, fine to be grouped with the EU, it makes the most sense. I'm pretty sure what Richard is saying though, and I think it's what's happening, is we're sharing with poorer countries who can't afford theres, so we're subsidising African countries getting a share of the vaccines when we don't have enough for ourselves anyway.

We had signed up as part of the EU to that Covax Alliance, which US and Russia did not, so that's what I thought he meant.

Maybe we're not, but if we are, I think it's silly.

We are not behind other countries on access to the virus. As soon as we have it approved, it will be available. Any excess ( existing agreements in place will be far more than we need) will go to poorer countries

titan18

Deleted User wrote: »

We are not behind other countries on access to the virus. As soon as we have it approved, it will be available. Any excess ( existing agreements in place will be far more than we need) will go to poorer countries

Ya, my opinion is the excess should go after we're mainly sorted ourselves. I know there's a moral argument we can prevent deaths elsewhere if we share amongst the most vulnerable globally, but when we'd be subsidizing it and have people here out of work as we have to lockdown, I think nah, sort ourselves first.

Supercell

Supercell wrote: »

Morocco aim to have 80% of their adult population vaccinated THIS month, we are aiming for next September.... Where there is a will, there is a way.

They have ordered 10million of the Chinese vaccine (which has not applied for approval in EU). They have 40 million people. Their target is 80% but they have not said by when, just that they wish to start this month

ixoy

Deleted User wrote: »

We are not behind other countries on access to the virus.

Ah, our numbers are pretty good so we're behind most of the EU

stephenjmcd

Moderna saying they expect EU approval early January with distribution to start immediately after

Russman

stephenjmcd wrote: »

Moderna saying they expect EU approval early January with distribution to start immediately after

Isn't their production capacity a lot lower than some of the others ? Maybe I'm confusing them with someone else. Will they be able to give a decent supply of doses ?

Supercell

Deleted User wrote: »

They have ordered 10million of the Chinese vaccine (which has not applied for approval in EU). They have 40 million people. Their target is 80% but they have not said by when, just that they wish to start this month

Ah, fair enough the article I read said completed but looking around that does not appear to be accurate. Thanks for the correction.

Sky King

Russman wrote: »

Isn't their production capacity a lot lower than some of the others ? Maybe I'm confusing them with someone else. Will they be able to give a decent supply of doses ?

According to BBC in November, Moderna hopes to have 1B doses by the end of 2021.
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-54902908

BioNtech / Pfizer hope to have 1.3B by the end of 2021 (New York times)
J & J if approved hope to have at least 1B by end of 2021 (New York times)

AstraZeneca has said their total annual manufacturing capacity for the vaccine, if approved, stands at two billion doses [don't know the timeframe this relates to] (New York times)

shameless liberal

Got sorted with CodeBlue in Cabra/Glasnevin. Got back to me quickly by email with a day that suited. Handy.

I see that Vida Health as posted above has lots of availability too.

Tropical Medical Bureau, Boots, Randox (Leopardstown) and Travel Health all non-runners due to lack of availability or non-response.

Thanks all

TheBoyConor

shameless liberal wrote: »

Hi all,
Very much appreciate any advice on this please.

Working from home but have housemates. Limiting contacts but can't legitimately ask them to limit theirs. Heading home down country next week for first time in about 6 months (parents elderly though otherwise not especially at risk).

Hoping for their peace of mind more than my own to do a private PCR test early next week. Struggling to find any availability online. Have tried Randox (no availability) and car currently out of action meaning Ashbourne and Airport a bit tricky (though not impossible). Based in Dublin 6 but can cycle anywhere really.

TMB and CodeBlue awaiting response. Asked Mater Private (but only for patients even though they're charging, which is weird) and Beacon is €250 (absolute charlatans!)

Any hot tips? Thanks!

Could you just ring the helpline and claim to have symtoms and get your test done for free that way?

"They've rushed this through"
"No way will I be taking it"
"God knows what's in it"
"Why do we need a vaccine in the first place"
"The politicians getting it are all in on the scam"
"wake up sheeple"

and now, after all that, the latest one is

"They're not rolling it out quick enough"


FFS, folks, it must be so tiresome to be running around with all that crap in your head, it's no wonder we've a mental health problem in this country.

Take a bleedin break from yourselves, for once.

ixoy

Deleted User wrote: »

FFS, folks, it must be so tiresome to be running around with all that crap in your head, it's no wonder we've a mental health problem in this country.

The people who are asking how quickly it can be rolled out are not the same people saying they won't take it, for the very large part.

Richard Hillman

titan18 wrote: »

Ya, that's the EU, fine to be grouped with the EU, it makes the most sense. I'm pretty sure what Richard is saying though, and I think it's what's happening, is we're sharing with poorer countries who can't afford theres, so we're subsidising African countries getting a share of the vaccines when we don't have enough for ourselves anyway.

We had signed up as part of the EU to that Covax Alliance, which US and Russia did not, so that's what I thought he meant.

Maybe we're not, but if we are, I think it's silly.

I would imaging we are paying for some other countries but the point I'm making is that we are equally in the queue with a lot of ****house countries, that's why we're getting a slow roll out. When we could have just said we're wealthy, us first.

We'll probably end up with Pfizer manufacturing it here and then shipping it abroad. All for the likes of Varadkar and Martin to make themselves look good for a post Irish politics career.

Henryq.

What's the efficacy of the Pfizer and the Oxford vaccine combined?

Say I wanted the 2 would it be like 100%?

CIARAN_BOYLE

Henryq. wrote: »

What's the efficacy of the Pfizer and the Oxford vaccine combined?

Say I wanted the 2 would it be like 100%?

It hasnt been tested together.

We dont know if the people who didn't have success with one vaccine dont have success because their immune system doesnt respond rather than any flaw of the vaccine.

95% might be as good as it gets.

hmmm

Richard Hillman wrote: »

We'll probably end up with Pfizer manufacturing it here and then shipping it abroad. All for the likes of Varadkar and Martin to make themselves look good for a post Irish politics career.

The EU have pre-purchased several vaccines. If there is a glut (and hopefully there will be), the EU will donate the remaining vaccines to poorer countries. The EU have also assisted with scaling up production to ensure that cheaper vaccines like Oxford are made in large quantities.

Thankfully we are part of the EU as it has allowed us to be part of large deals which would have been hard to negotiate as a small country.

The end of Covid will only happen when the entire world is vaccinated - it's in our national interest to help the rest of the world, aside entirely from a moral obligation. As long as the poorer countries still have it circulating there is a chance of a mutation which bypasses our current vaccines or a chance that it will be reintroduced as immunity has waned.

normanoffside

shameless liberal wrote: »

Tropical Medical Bureau, Boots, Randox (Leopardstown) and Travel Health all non-runners due to lack of availability or non-response.

Thanks all

I was actually looking to get booked myself in Randox in Leopardstown and like you say there is little or no availability so i booked myself with them at the airport.
Thankfully it suits me ok due to where I'll be with work that day.

Just for anyone else interested i now notice that TMB (through some 3rd party) have a drive thru centre at Leopardstown racecourse with tests for €120.
Seems to be loads of availability:

https://customer.jrni.com/?client=tmb

shameless liberal

normanoffside wrote: »

I was actually looking to get booked myself in Randox in Leopardstown and like you say there is little or no availability so i booked myself with them at the airport.
Thankfully it suits me ok due to where I'll be with work that day.

Just for anyone else interested i now notice that TMB (through some 3rd party) have a drive thru centre at Leopardstown racecourse with tests for €120.
Seems to be loads of availability:

https://customer.jrni.com/?client=tmb

Fair play. Just now actually TMB came back to me with an apt for Monday so I'm sorted and closer to home.

So TMB, CodeBlue, Vida seem to be options and Randox at the Airport. Boots and a few others in the city fully booked.

titan18

hmmm wrote: »

The EU have pre-purchased several vaccines. If there is a glut (and hopefully there will be), the EU will donate the remaining vaccines to poorer countries. The EU have also assisted with scaling up production to ensure that cheaper vaccines like Oxford are made in large quantities.

Thankfully we are part of the EU as it has allowed us to be part of large deals which would have been hard to negotiate as a small country.

The end of Covid will only happen when the entire world is vaccinated - it's in our national interest to help the rest of the world, aside entirely from a moral obligation. As long as the poorer countries still have it circulating there is a chance of a mutation which bypasses our current vaccines or a chance that it will be reintroduced as immunity has waned.

True, but at the same time, that chance is still there when we're not vaccinated here as we're sending vaccines to other countries. I don't particularly mind us helping to subsidize other countries so that we get rid of covid long term, once we're sorted ourselves (and thats with a good 50%+ vaccinated). I do have an issue if we're going (as part of the EU) that we have 100 million doses. 70m go EU and 30m go to countries who can't afford it by themselves, as we're effectively subsidizing them to stay in restrictions here.