Vaccine Megathread - See OP for threadbans

namloc1980

Just got call from my GP. Going for first Pfizer shot next week! Relieved now - I am in a vulnerable group.

hynesie08

With az back on track and possibly J&J, well should hit 1m first doses in the next week to ten days...... That's fairly impressive.

is_that_so

hynesie08 wrote: »

With az back on track and possibly J&J, well should hit 1m first doses in the next week to ten days...... That's fairly impressive.

AZ being on track is like saying the name of the Scottish play in a theatre - very likely to jinx things!

PhilOssophy

Irish people are such numpties - you have an appointment for 11:15, don't arrive at 10:15 and think you can just get into the queue.
They should have a big sign "queue now for <slot>" and somebody checking their appointment. This isn't old John and Mary who are in their 90s - these people are for the most part firm and able.
Wait for your slot FFS and don't be a gobsheen.

odyssey06

PhilOssophy wrote: »

Irish people are such numpties - you have an appointment for 11:15, don't arrive at 10:15 and think you can just get into the queue.
They should have a big sign "queue now for <slot>" and somebody checking their appointment. This isn't old John and Mary who are in their 90s - these people are for the most part firm and able.
Wait for your slot FFS and don't be a gobsheen.

True but the MVCs shouldn't be letting them be numpties, might need more than a sign.

is_that_so

PhilOssophy wrote: »

Irish people are such numpties - you have an appointment for 11:15, don't arrive at 10:15 and think you can just get into the queue.
They should have a big sign "queue now for <slot>" and somebody checking their appointment. This isn't old John and Mary who are in their 90s - these people are for the most part firm and able.
Wait for your slot FFS and don't be a gobsheen.

This week will be a learning experience for everyone in MVCs!

josip

Bubbaclaus wrote: »

They are there - cohort 5. Just around 4.5k now.

Cohort 5 are the high risk.
I'm asking about the 60-69 year olds who started registering on the portal last week for AZ at the MVCs.
I thought they had been getting appointments starting this week?
(I appreciate the dashboard has a 2 day lag)

Van.Bosch

Strange 60-64 is open when 65-69 year olds havnt all got an appointment yet?

bodun

PhilOssophy wrote: »

Irish people are such numpties - you have an appointment for 11:15, don't arrive at 10:15 and think you can just get into the queue.
They should have a big sign "queue now for <slot>" and somebody checking their appointment. This isn't old John and Mary who are in their 90s - these people are for the most part firm and able.
Wait for your slot FFS and don't be a gobsheen.

Ha, I take it you've never worked in a hospital so! People absolutely love turning up early for appointments in the hope that they'll be seen earlier or they'll get to see "himself" (the consultant rather than a NCHD) or I'll get the early train home etc. And it doesn't matter how may letters, texts and phone calls they get they'll still rock up 45min before their time.

lbj666

Cazale wrote: »

The missus is from the North and got the Astrazenica vaccine up there the day before they restricted the age groups. She's now very reticent to get the second jab. I can get her the Pfizer vaccine now through work. Is there any guidelines or data on getting Astrazenica and then Pfizer?

Its still in trial stage really, so there is no advise recommendations or anyone to stand over it. Pfizer certainly cant stand over the effects of mixing with a vacine thats not theirs so i dont know would they be willing.

maviesk

gmisk wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone here in NI had a vaccine?
I am able to book an appointment now (35-39).
I didn't need NHS number, dob and address was sufficient.
I am just wondering do I need proof of address when I attend at the SSE? (Have UK passport etc for photo ID)
I can go home to get a letter or something but would be a serious trek!, Is it something they are checking?

Are you registered with a GP in NI?
They will ask for your address but you don’t need proof of it.

If you are registered with a GP in England you will need to contact the trust directly and cannot book online.

seamus

PhilOssophy wrote: »

Irish people are such numpties - you have an appointment for 11:15, don't arrive at 10:15 and think you can just get into the queue.
They should have a big sign "queue now for <slot>" and somebody checking their appointment. This isn't old John and Mary who are in their 90s - these people are for the most part firm and able.
Wait for your slot FFS and don't be a gobsheen.

Teething problems. I doubt this is a uniquely Irish problem.

There might also be some "war stories", since some GP surgeries told all of their patients to come at the same time and then they vaccinated them in order of arrival.

So until we've been doing this for a couple of weeks, there'll be confusion over how it actually works.

hynesie08

Van.Bosch wrote: »

Strange 60-64 is open when 65-69 year olds havnt all got an appointment yet?

There has to be point of critical mass, if you waited for 100% of 65-69 year olds to book you'd be months behind schedule.

SJFly

Van.Bosch wrote: »

Strange 60-64 is open when 65-69 year olds havnt all got an appointment yet?

They have in some regions. They can't pace the rollout based on the worst performer on the basis of "fairness". Hopefully when all MVCs are fully operational these regional differences will iron out.

hmmm

I know they are trying to manage numbers, but for someone who has no idea how to get to the Aviva (or the other centres) and where to park it's not much use being told to the nearest minute what time their appointment is - many will get there early just in case. Maybe a bit more flexibility in times might make people less concerned they will "miss" their slot.

It's a bit unfair I think to be calling them numpties, better they are turning up early than not turning up at all

seamus

hmmm wrote: »

I know they are trying to manage numbers, but for someone who has no idea how to get to the Aviva (or the other centres) and where to park it's not much use being told to the nearest minute what time their appointment is - many will get there early just in case. Maybe a bit more flexibility in times might make people less concerned they will "miss" their slot.

It's a bit unfair I think to be calling them numpties, better they are turning up early than not turning up at all

I don't know the setup, but maybe some accommodation for it will also help; cordon off an area, put in enough benches for 50 people and invite a coffee van and a food van to park up for the day.

Then you can turn people away who are too early and direct them towards the waiting area. Just make it clear that they have to come back at the right time, nobody is going to call their name.

gmisk

maviesk wrote: »

Are you registered with a GP in NI?
They will ask for your address but you don’t need proof of it.

If you are registered with a GP in England you will need to contact the trust directly and cannot book online.

Thanks for that, Yes registered in NI.

I might wait til they have more venues only option at the minute is SSE. They will be adding community pharmacies seemingly so might be easier to get too from Dublin.
I think anyone 35-40 can book so they are really flying through them!

Beanybabog

Van.Bosch wrote: »

Strange 60-64 is open when 65-69 year olds havnt all got an appointment yet?

Is it open? I can only see a newspaper article saying 64 year old to register tomorrow, does that mean 63 is the next day?

hmmm

hmmm wrote: »

I know they are trying to manage numbers, but for someone who has no idea how to get to the Aviva (or the other centres) and where to park it's not much use being told to the nearest minute what time their appointment is - many will get there early just in case. Maybe a bit more flexibility in times might make people less concerned they will "miss" their slot.

It's a bit unfair I think to be calling them numpties, better they are turning up early than not turning up at all

If they get there early they should wait in the car or go for a walk. They shouldn't be joining the queue and creating a bottleneck for the people who turn up on time.

Having said that, this is on the organisers. It's really not that difficult to have someone check people's appointment time when they arrive, just like they do at the test centres. Don't let someone in the queue if they are more than 15 mins early.

Russman

seamus wrote: »

I don't know the setup, but maybe some accommodation for it will also help; cordon off an area, put in enough benches for 50 people and invite a coffee van and a food van to park up for the day.

Then you can turn people away who are too early and direct them towards the waiting area. Just make it clear that they have to come back at the right time, nobody is going to call their name.

Fair point, and could be doable in some centres I'd assume, but maybe they've just taken the view that if you're going to have people hanging around you may as well have them in the queue and just lash through them as fast as you can with the jabs. To be fair, there are 50 booths in Citywest, so 50 people will potentially be arriving for a 10.30 slot, there's going to be some queuing anyway. FWIW my mother was in and out within 50 mins is Citywest on Tuesday and while I was in the car waiting for her I could see there were definitely "surges" of people followed by 10/15min quiet periods. Her friend was there a few hours earlier and it took her two hours, so it seems to be a bit random.

josip

PhilOssophy wrote: »

Irish people are such numpties - you have an appointment for 11:15, don't arrive at 10:15 and think you can just get into the queue.
They should have a big sign "queue now for <slot>" and somebody checking their appointment. This isn't old John and Mary who are in their 90s - these people are for the most part firm and able.
Wait for your slot FFS and don't be a gobsheen.

I wouldn't blame the people.
Queuing psychology is a well understood phenomenon and any business/organization carrying out an activity that will involve large numbers should have a clear plan for how they are going to manage the queue.
And they have to manage the queue, they can't rely on the people to do that, because nobody will, that's where the psychology kicks in.
Everyone is familiar with it from Ryanair queues at departure gates, and they are the same in every country.

If you arrive 30 mins early and are normally a rule follower but see the queue is c30 minutes long, what will you do?
Wait in the car until your recommended time and join the queue when you're supposed to and then wait a further 30 minutes?

SusanC10

Apologies if already somewhere in this thread - only pop in and out.

When Ireland gets to the age-based rollout (no underlying conditions), are we going as far as people aged 16 ?

Also, any progress on Age 12-15 ? Particularly in EU.

Thanks.

Valhallapt

josip wrote: »

I wouldn't blame the people.
Queuing psychology is a well understood phenomenon and any business/organization carrying out an activity that will involve large numbers should have a clear plan for how they are going to manage the queue.
And they have to manage the queue, they can't rely on the people to do that, because nobody will, that's where the psychology kicks in.
Everyone is familiar with it from Ryanair queues at departure gates, and they are the same in every country.

If you arrive 30 mins early and are normally a rule follower but see the queue is c30 minutes long, what will you do?
Wait in the car until your recommended time and join the queue when you're supposed to and then wait a further 30 minutes?

They should start sending everyone a text 60 mins before the appointment- “do not arrive early, those arriving early will be put to the back of the queue. You must wait in you can until 10 mins before your appointment”

Qrt

I'd recommend anyone going to the Aviva MVC to get the DART if possible. It's right beside the stadium so no parking etc to worry about. DART trains are probably one of the most spacious in the world owing to our ridiculously wide track gauge, so overcrowding isn't exactly a problem. Not sure if the ten-minute DART is still going but it's surely not going to be much less.

crossman47

Valhallapt wrote: »

They should start sending everyone a text 60 mins before the appointment- “do not arrive early, those arriving early will be put to the back of the queue. You must wait in you can until 10 mins before your appointment”

I agree they should do something but thats not it. Not everyone has a car to wait in. A better idea is the one above of a waiting area. They should not call early queuers before their time as word gets around - get there early and you'll be done quickly. We were never a good nation for queues e.g. any bus queue you care to mention.

bikeman1

Got a text yesterday for a moderna vaccine tomorrow. Delighted that it is happening and somewhat came out of the blue by text. I’m in Cohort 7, so they are working down through them.

My Dad is in Cohort 7 also and has been done two weeks. The mother is in the 60+ range, so the three of us will all have one vaccine in a matter of weeks which is a great reassurance for us all.

I second the point above about getting the Dart to the Aviva. Simply drive to your nearest station, DART are every 15 minutes and 20 on a Sunday. Very reliable and no stress of wondering what way the roads go around Sandymount / Ballsbridge.

Qrt

crossman47 wrote: »

I agree they should do something but thats not it. Not everyone has a car to wait in. A better idea is the one above of a waiting area. They should not call early queuers before their time as word gets around - get there early and you'll be done quickly. We were never a good nation for queues e.g. any bus queue you care to mention.

Bus queue? In Ireland? Apart from Busáras, I've never seen a bus queue. I've only seen mobs.

funnydoggy

funnydoggy wrote: »

Girlfriend got her call for a vaccine for Wednesday! Now herself and her dad will have one soon. Her mother already got her vaccine last week.

Three of the four vulnerable people close to me will have at least one dose very very soon. Yay!

Now four out of four soon! Mammy just got a call for Pairc Uí Chaoimh for a Pfizer shot on Tuesday

titan18

PhilOssophy wrote: »

Irish people are such numpties - you have an appointment for 11:15, don't arrive at 10:15 and think you can just get into the queue.
They should have a big sign "queue now for <slot>" and somebody checking their appointment. This isn't old John and Mary who are in their 90s - these people are for the most part firm and able.
Wait for your slot FFS and don't be a gobsheen.

Tbf, every experience with the HSE I have is the times of appointments aren't worth the paper they're written on. Even the secretaries themselves in places I go say ignore it and just come along when they open and you're seen in the order you arrive.

Can't blame people for assuming it's the same here when that's what the HSE do in multiple places anyway.

Scuid Mhór

bikeman1 wrote: »

Got a text yesterday for a moderna vaccine tomorrow. Delighted that it is happening and somewhat came out of the blue by text. I’m in Cohort 7, so they are working down through them.

My Dad is in Cohort 7 also and has been done two weeks. The mother is in the 60+ range, so the three of us will all have one vaccine in a matter of weeks which is a great reassurance for us all.

I second the point above about getting the Dart to the Aviva. Simply drive to your nearest station, DART are every 15 minutes and 20 on a Sunday. Very reliable and no stress of wondering what way the roads go around Sandymount / Ballsbridge.

Great to see. We need more posts like this. My sister got the same text this morning. One person at a time!