Update on Covid providing information on positivity and hospital admissions for England and its regions. This post is best viewed using the browser or Substack app.
I tried to get a Covid vaccination in Scotland, I rang every pharmcy across the Highlands and Islands, no one, not one, is doing vaccines 'until autumn' and even then only Pfizer, and maybe not even then. And then only in Aberdeen. It was suggested I ask my GP to prescribe a dose privately. Flat out refusal. Apparently they 'don't do that sort of thing'. In the end I found an appointment (only Pfizer) in Edinburgh but before I could get there my partner brought Covid home from a Conference. He said he had been careful, wore a mask etc, but the conference had nothing, no air filters, nothing...
I'm wiped out, I'm sure you all know the symptoms, with the added fun of my diabetes being trashed :(
Even when we try to do 'you do you' it seems we cannot win.
And now Covid is everywhere, in the hospitals, my family in Suffolk, suddenly this week, everyone seems affected, so I think the next reports will show rising levels and I think I read Scotland is going to increase surveillance to weekly and in Worcester they are back to wearing baggy blues in the hospitals?
Will people ever get sick of being sick for the sake of 'normailty'?
Doo you have any knowledge about what mRNA vaccine we should hope for in the Autumn? Should we hope it is against the latest strain such as KP.3 or would it be better if it were against the parent strain LN. 1 so as to protect more widely?
Please can you or Sheena cover the question of when and how often it is advisable to get a Covid booster if you are not eligible to receive them from the NHS given what you say about the decline in vaccine efficacy after 15 weeks?
We can’t really give clinical advice but will try and address your query as best I can. Our antibodies wain yes but it’s not clear our memory immune cells and T cells will do so if you are fit and well then you should be protected from serious disease. So once a year seems reasonable and in line that is really what most countries are doing. The autumn vaccines aim more to cover the variants and ongoing evolution of virus. If more clinically vulnerable then your immune system may not have the same capacity eg fewer T cells , lower antibodies so you need the booster mid year
If fit and well, at the end of the day it’s up to the individual if they can afford to and would prefer a booster mid t year.
Thank you, Sheena! Very helpful. I deliberately phrased my question in general terms as I know you can’t give individual clinical advice. Many thanks. 🙏🙏🙏
I tried to get a Covid vaccination in Scotland, I rang every pharmcy across the Highlands and Islands, no one, not one, is doing vaccines 'until autumn' and even then only Pfizer, and maybe not even then. And then only in Aberdeen. It was suggested I ask my GP to prescribe a dose privately. Flat out refusal. Apparently they 'don't do that sort of thing'. In the end I found an appointment (only Pfizer) in Edinburgh but before I could get there my partner brought Covid home from a Conference. He said he had been careful, wore a mask etc, but the conference had nothing, no air filters, nothing...
I'm wiped out, I'm sure you all know the symptoms, with the added fun of my diabetes being trashed :(
Even when we try to do 'you do you' it seems we cannot win.
And now Covid is everywhere, in the hospitals, my family in Suffolk, suddenly this week, everyone seems affected, so I think the next reports will show rising levels and I think I read Scotland is going to increase surveillance to weekly and in Worcester they are back to wearing baggy blues in the hospitals?
Will people ever get sick of being sick for the sake of 'normailty'?
Doo you have any knowledge about what mRNA vaccine we should hope for in the Autumn? Should we hope it is against the latest strain such as KP.3 or would it be better if it were against the parent strain LN. 1 so as to protect more widely?
Hi Clare, one of my recent posts looked at what to expect for autumn vaccines. https://sheenacruickshankimmunology.substack.com/publish/posts/detail/145566878?referrer=%2Fpublish%2Fhome - it depends where you are based but it’s looking like the WHO guidelines are what producers are doing and that is what US is doing
Please can you or Sheena cover the question of when and how often it is advisable to get a Covid booster if you are not eligible to receive them from the NHS given what you say about the decline in vaccine efficacy after 15 weeks?
We can’t really give clinical advice but will try and address your query as best I can. Our antibodies wain yes but it’s not clear our memory immune cells and T cells will do so if you are fit and well then you should be protected from serious disease. So once a year seems reasonable and in line that is really what most countries are doing. The autumn vaccines aim more to cover the variants and ongoing evolution of virus. If more clinically vulnerable then your immune system may not have the same capacity eg fewer T cells , lower antibodies so you need the booster mid year
If fit and well, at the end of the day it’s up to the individual if they can afford to and would prefer a booster mid t year.
Not sure this helps?
Thank you, Sheena! Very helpful. I deliberately phrased my question in general terms as I know you can’t give individual clinical advice. Many thanks. 🙏🙏🙏