Middlewood Covid Vaccination Resources

As hopefully you have read in our blogs we have successfully launched our Covid Vaccination Programme.  The clinics have run smoothly and we have vaccinated nearly 5000 people on top of all our Care Home Residents.

The feedback we have received from these sessions has been excellent and has been a delight to see so many people receiving their vaccination.  It is clear what it mean to many people.  You can read more about our first few clinics here.

Please remember to continue to social distance and take the usual protective measures after your vaccination as outlined here.

We will continue to run as many clinics and vaccinate as many of our patients as we can in the weeks ahead.  The most limiting factor for our schedule is likely to be vaccine supply.  We will continue to keep everyone up to date with the latest information as we get it.

We understand that people have lots of questions around this vaccination programme which is so important in hopefully allowing us all to return to a more normal way of life.

Below is a series of resources both to update you on plans for our local delivery of the vaccine for the residents of Bollington, Disley and Poynton and to give you some more information on the vaccines being given.

Covid Vaccine Questions Answered

The list of who will be vaccinated has been designed centrally on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).  It is not designed by Middlewood and we (like all Primary Care Teams) have to follow the order set.  We cannot deviate from this even if there might appear to be a good case for doing so.

The priority list is as follows:

  1. residents in a care home for older adults and their carers
  2. all those 80 years of age and over and frontline health and social care workers
  3. all those 75 years of age and over
  4. all those 70 years of age and over and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals[footnote 1]
  5. all those 65 years of age and over
  6. all individuals aged 16 years to 64 years with underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality
  7. all those 60 years of age and over
  8. all those 55 years of age and over
  9. all those 50 years of age and over

You can read more about this and why these groups have been chosen here

Please do not!  We will let you know when it is your turn to be vaccinated.   We won’t be able to tell you before it is your time because we won’t know.

Trying to continue to run a busy GP Practice whilst carrying out this vaccination programme is very challenging.  You can do your bit by not contacting us to ask information that we won’t be able to give.  We really appreciate that you may be desperate for this vaccine and we thank you for waiting your turn.

We started our vaccination programme on the 14th January 2021.

The vaccination centre has to be set up very carefully due to the way in which the vaccination must be stored and administered. Because of this we are only allowed to have one vaccination site across Middlewood.

For all Middlewood patients, at this time, the vaccination centre will be the Civic Centre in Poynton. This has been chosen because it is the most central location for the biggest number of patients and it has a large enough space to ensure social distancing is maintained. We are required to ask patients to remain on the premises for 15 minutes after their vaccination.

More specific information about how this will work be available before the first vaccination clinics.

The overwhelming evidence is that this vaccine is very safe.  The MHRA (drug regulator) approved the Pfizer vaccination in early December.

Although the process by which this vaccine has been approved has been faster than normal it has undergone a rigorous series of trials and our regulators are happy that it safe to give.

The MHRA quotes the following as potential side effects:

Side effects may occur with following frequencies:

Very common: may affect more than 1 in 10 people

  • pain at injection site
  • tiredness
  • headache
  • muscle pain
  • chills
  • joint pain
  • fever

Common: may affect up to 1 in 10 people

  • injection site swelling
  • redness at injection site
  • nausea

Uncommon: may affect up to 1 in 100 people

  • enlarged lymph nodes
  • feeling unwell

There is a reporting scheme – the Coronvirus yellow card reporting site is available if people were to have any side effects and this will allow accurate collection of any side effects people have.

  1.  Pregnant women in most cases- see below
  2. Those with significant allergies – following the reports of a number of patients who developed anaphylaxis following administration of the vaccine the following advice was given “Any person with a history of anaphylaxis to a vaccine, medicine or food should not receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.  A 2nd dose should not be given to anyone who has experienced anaphylaxis following administration of the first dose of the vaccine.  Please note that this means severe anaphylaxis to a vaccine, medicine, or food and does not mean a mild reaction eg a mild rash  See below for some more specific questions and answers regarding allergy.
  3. A severe illness with high fever – low-grade colds not a reason to not have the vaccine

At present the answer is no in the UK if you are pregnant in most cases.  However as you can see from the official advice below, the JCVI has now said it may be reasonable to have the vaccine if you are pregnant and are at particular high risk of catching Covid or whose underlying health conditions make it more likely to develop complications.

In a change to guidance it is now permitted to have the vaccine if you are breastfeeding.

For the latest advice please read the gov.uk advice here

 

Although your risk of developing Covid should be much lower having had the vaccination, we don’t know yet whether you are still capable of passing on the virus.  So it is important that you continue to:

  • Keep 2m distance away from people
  • Wear a face covering
  • Wash your hands regularly

If you develop symptoms which are suggestive of Covid following your vaccination you should still self isolated and organise a test.

There is trial data to suggest that the vaccine was both safe and helped people who have had past Covid infections from being reinfected.

If is important therefore that even if you believe yourself to have had Covid in the past that you still have the vaccination.

You need to be 4 weeks post infection to have the vaccine.

Vaccinated individuals should be advised that the COVID-19 vaccine may cause a mild fever which usually resolves within 48 hours. This is a common, expected reaction and isolation is not required unless COVID-19 is suspected. Feeling generally unwell, shivery, achy and tired were also symptoms reported by vaccine recipients in the clinical trials.

Generally these symptoms were found to resolve within one to two days without treatment but antipyretics and/or analgesics can be taken if necessary to relieve any of these symptoms.

The most commonly reported symptoms for COVID-19 disease are:

A high temperature
A new, continuous cough
A loss or change to sense of smell or taste
If someone experiences any of these symptoms they should stay at home and arrange to have a test. The COVID-19 vaccine will not interfere with testing for COVID-19 infection.

As is recommended after any vaccination, any fever following vaccination should be monitored and if individuals are concerned about their health at any time, they should seek advice from their GP or NHS 111.

For those interested in the science behind the Pfizer vaccine then you can learn more about the vaccines here in an excellent explanation from Rob Swanda

Some of the language is a little technical but hopefully gives some insight for those who are interested.

Yes, allergy (except anaphylaxis) to penicillins and other drugs is not a contraindication to the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine

Anyone with a history of anaphylaxis to a food/vaccine/medicine should NOT be given the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine

The Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine does not contain any egg proteins and is not contraindicated in egg allergy

Yes, allergy to aeroallergens such as house dust mites, pollen or animal allergens is not a contraindication to the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine

Yes, venom allergy is not a contraindication to the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. (NOTE – Venom anaphylaxis individuals can have the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. However if you have a raised baseline tryptase you should discuss the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine with your allergist/immunologist or haematologist)

Yes, there is no need to avoid the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine if you have mild to moderate reactions to foods/drugs unless you are known to be allergic to Polyethylene Glycol

No

There is no reason to suspect that it would cause any problems for someone allergic to fish. However, if you have a history of anaphylaxis you are not currently eligible to receive the vaccine

NHS Vaccination Leaflets

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Covid-19 Vaccination - A guide for adults

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Covid-19 Vaccination - a leaflet to all women of childbearing age

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