rsv vaccine

[Catwoman50]

I have ipf & bronchiecstasis my lovely respiratory nurse wrote to my GP asking them to consider giving me the rsv vaccine due to my double lung condition & age ( I’m 74 next week) the vaccine is generally available to all over 75s regardless of health status.

The response today was ‘no I’m too young’ so someone a year older than me but fit & healthy can have it. No respect at all for the opinion of the clinical nurse specialist who cares for me at the hospital & made this direct request.

I) I feel very unsupported by by gp practice:

2) whatever happened to prevention is better than cure.

[Swizzy]

The only person who can overide the age rule is your consultant. I am 74 with bronch and heart failure. At my request my bronch consultant asked my GP to give me the RSV vaccine.They immediately gave it to me. Give it a go. Get in touch with your consultant.

[Catwoman50 in reply to Swizzy]

Thank you for your reply Swizzy. I have only ever actually met my consultant at the most 3 times in the 8 years I have been diagnosed. Everything here is specialist nurse led (Birmingham) . It just seems to get anything done you have to wade through mud, so you just give up. My nurse is fantastic but so busy she can only do so much . You would think that the fact she had written in her capacity as a lead specialist nurse in respiratory would be sufficient for a gp to respect her recommendation. Instead of making more work for the hospital & leaving me vulnerable.

I’m glad you managed to get it yourself x

[O2Trees in reply to Catwoman50]

Hierarchy is everything in the NHS, Catwoman. But could you ask your specialist nurse to contact your consultant and ask him to make the request of your GP? Worth a try, I'd have thought.

[Swizzy in reply to Catwoman50]

I have been with the QE in Bham since 1982. My bronch consultant is there and she is joint head of the British Thoracic Society. Problems like yours I are the reason that I nag and nag for bronchs to get a bronch specialist. I’m afraid that in my experience specialist respiratory nurses do not have sufficient training in bronch and however sympathetic they may be they carry no weight in the NHS heirarchy. I suggest that you find my consultant, a woman, on the QE website. Take her name to your GP and insist on a referral. We really do have to be pro active in our own interests for when problems crop up.

[B0xermad]

That's a coincidence as my respiratory consultant has requested that for me I'm 64 and awaiting a response. I checked up and pregnant women and over 75s and those deemed with multiple lung conditions can be included

[Hopeful1]

There does appear to be clinical discretion

clinical discretion

[Hopeful1 in reply to Hopeful1]

Has anyone had success with this at GP level?

The govt site from which it came

[grahamrobe in reply to Hopeful1]

I attended my GP surgery for a health check up, and was offered the RSV vaccination I am 68.I have also had the annual flu and COVID vaccination's since then, without any problems with them.

[Alberta56 in reply to Hopeful1]

Thank you. That's worth knowing.

[Alberta56]

Good luck in getting the vaccine. In Mid and south Essex our respiratory team work under the aegis of a consultant. I don't know if that could be the case elsewhere.

[LissacFrance]

Hi, this is not a problem here in France as the vaccine is used only on babies and young children. It was only last month, when visiting my sister-in-law that we learned of its existence. The virus ccauses bronchiolytis in babies which requires very careful management, but not so serious for adults. Our own GP is very clued up on vaccines, and told us to gett our flu and Covid done before visit to UK, but no mention of RSV. Try not to think about it too much, after all, unlike Covid, it has been around for a long time. Have a good day, Chris.

[Swizzy in reply to LissacFrance]

The problem with RSV is that it becomes more and more of a threat to those of us with lung conditions, especially as we get older. I used to catch it every New Years Eve and it would morph into an exacerbation. Being young,although it was horrible I got over it with my abs. Now though, my consultant deems me at risk of being dangerously affected by it at my age. With the heavy duty of self care which our bronch puts on us, the less our poor lungs have to fight off the better

[LissacFrance in reply to Swizzy]

On the whole agree with everything you say, but why, here in France, we had never heard of it? Never eard and never mentionned by consultants or GP. Our Gp is on the ball nd sends us off for all essential jabs, including shingles. Shingles vaccine presrciption not much use as vaccine has now been "out of stock" for 3 years. Is the restriction in UK simply due to shortage? My wife is not going to worry about it but will continue to aim for 10,000 steps a day to make lungs work harder. Have a good day, Chris.

[Coughingalltheway in reply to LissacFrance]

Your post has made me think about this, I'd never heard of RSV until they invented a vaccine for it. You can't help but wonder...

[Swizzy in reply to LissacFrance]

Strangely enough it is only this year that attention is being paid to it. Probably because the vaccine has only just been developed. It is very expensive, £250 in the pharmacy. I can’t conjecture why France is not interested but probably a supply/ cost issue and wishing to avoid the clamour and controversy over who is allowed it which is happening here. There does seem to be an unprecedented outbreak of RSV, FLU and Covid together here this year. Your wife does so well with your support and I hope that if she stays away from the nasties and avoids them.

[Phill1]

I too am 74 yrs old & under supervision of a Bronchiectasis Consultant (male) at the QE hospital Birmingham..

Had Noted in an earlier post that Swizzy had managed to get one via Consultant (thanks)

So I rang his secretary and asked if he could sanction an RSV jab for me with my GP . Duly done and I’m having it next week! Secretary just needs to send GP practice an email request

Hope you can do the same

[Swizzy in reply to Phill1]

Well done!

[annaemmalucy]

What's new Catwoman50? It's a fight every time

[Beth1949]

I live in the states and the age here is anyone over 65 and/or have a health issue.

[Catwoman50]

thank you all so much for some interesting & helpful replies. Some very good suggestions made that I will certainly follow up.

Stay well everyone & seasons greetings to you all x

[Patk1]

I'd ring gp surgery again,telling thm as per Respiratory dept instructions,when can u have yr rsv jab? Any probs,tell thm they said its vital4u + refer to NICE guidelines.many of us are having to be firm&fight for healthcare we need.if that still fails,ask consultant ( via secretary) to write to them