Hi everyone,
Trying to get my 4th, just phoned my doc who say they know nothing about 4th vac, I’ve told them my rheumatologist has asked I get one, she then told me several people are phoning about this and they are not aware of what to do?
Any ideas?
Maybe the issue lies with your rheumy, although you surgery seem lacking in information - from what I've read either Rheumy or GP should be writing a letter to you stating you need the 4th dose because of your compromised immune system..
this from NHS site ;'
3rd doses at walk-in sites -
If you or your child are under 16 years old and eligible for a 3rd dose, you can take one of these things to any walk-in vaccination site that is offering 3rd doses:
a letter from your GP or hospital specialist inviting you to book a 3rd dose for people with a severely weakened immune system
a hospital letter that describes the condition or treatment that caused you to have a severely weakened immune system at the time of your 1st or 2nd dose
a prescription or a medicine box with your name and the date showing when the medicine was prescribed - this must show that you had a severely weakened immune system at the time of your 1st or 2nd dose
You must take your evidence with you to the walk-in site. Please also check that the site is offering vaccines for your or your child’s age group.
Boosters (4th doses) at walk-in sites
If you or your child are eligible for a booster (4th dose), you can go to any walk-in vaccination site that is offering boosters if you have a letter from a GP or hospital specialist inviting you for either a 3rd dose or a booster (4th dose) for people with a severely weakened immune system.
You must take your letter with you to the walk-in site. Please also check that the site is offering vaccines for your or your child’s age group.
full details here - nhs.uk/conditions/coronavir...
Hi, My rheumatologist did send a letter to my doctor, so I don’t know why it’s a problem?
X
Surgery need to get their act together then - and give you a copy of letter so you can book it yourself!
I have a letter, when I tried to book via the gov site it said to contact my surgery.
Do you have a walk in centre near you - nhs link implies if you take copy of letter that’s enough proof to get you vaccinated.
Maybe I can try that.Thank you
Yes, that works , you need to ask to speak to someone at the door , explain, and give them a photo or scanned copy of the letter to take in to the Unit , while you wait away from the queue. don't wait in the queue to explain it , you don't have to.
From my experience , and others , they see that there is an oversight and will often try and fit you in then , or organize an actual appointment time at that Unit within a few days after you have spoken to them.
The face to face thing works, trying to solve it on the UK phone lines may take until hell freezes over!
Yes I agree, thank you
That assumes they read it ...
That is a big problem isn’t it to assume they have read it. Of course they are very busy - so there is the excuse
Early in the 3rd primary vaccine saga it became obvious there was a lot they hadn't read that they should have!
Hi. How long after the 3rd primary injection should you have your booster is it 6 months ? Thank you
Sorry - I really don't know, I'm in a different medical system. Every country seems to have their own ideas!!! And they change from week to week ...
91 days in England. I got mine on day 92!
I have been sent the email and testing kit that says I'm entitled to receive the "super drug" should I contract Covid. I don't know how they knew I was "entitled" and I can't book a 4th Jab, as the website reckons I'm not entitled to that. 😱
Yes, I was told by NHS I should have a 4th jab but GP said no (over the phone of course). I asked him how NHS knew I needed 4th jab as clearly info must have come from GP. He said he had no idea. Which just about sums it up really!!
Bonkers how the system works - or rather doesn’t work! 😳
This is happening to a lot of people atm. Even the doctors don't know about a 4th jab. Here is Germany they say that a 4th jab is unnecessary unless someone has a particular problem
Hi I don’t understand, the gov have sent me extra cover regarding covid med if I prove positive, my rheumatologist has sent a letter to doc, so what’s the problem🤷♀️
I agree with jinasc! You don't really expect your doctor or rheumatologist to understand the problem, do you??
Quite right 🤣
I really would not bother with the surgery any more as you are banging your head against a brick wall. Do as DorsetLady and PMRpro have advised and take your letter and prescription paraphernalia to your nearest walk in centre. They won't turn you away unless by a very remote possibility they find some anomaly.All this going around in circles is blinking stressful!
How long is the Covid Pass valid? Here it was just 6 months and there is talk about it being shortened again - and that will mean another jab. It's already 2 and a half months since my 3rd.
Six months too! Ours were also about 2 1/2 months ago .Lot of talk about 4th jab but, as elsewhere, no-one capable of making a decision!
The figures here are horrendous!! Italy in general is rather better though.
Seems to me they are horrendous everywhere in Europe.
Can’t believe Doctors don’t know about 4th. It been on the news, in the papers. Oh I forgot they are too busy to breathe
Left hand, 👈right hand 👉springs to mind.
🤣xx
I have been for my 4th vaccination today. My GP didn't want to know so I went to a walk in centre and took proof of the 3 previous vaccinations I'd had and it was no problem. You cannot book on line as their computers can't differentiate between the 3rd vaccination and a booster.
How the hell are we supposed to differentiate then!.!
Because we aren't computers - the software in the UK didn't allow for a differentiation between a 3rd primary dose for someone immunosuppressed and a 3rd dose that was a booster for an otherwise healthy person. But we don't work on a binary system ...
I have a feeling they will announce we are through the worst and 4th jab not necessary....wouldn`t surprise me....
Until the numbers go up again ... Which they will almost certainly do in the early summer if not sooner. There is already a new variant of Omicron, more infectious though with well jabbed patients less severe. But once the immunity wanes they will be back to the beginning,.
They say we will all have to learn to live with it...in a milder form...Was a bit worried about posting on here in case Fran tells us off!
We will, it isn't going to go away I suspect. But I think they will also end up with a different type of jab that will have a more general protection, like the flu one. To some extent we are there - as long as you have had your jabs and a nastier variant doesn't appear. But it will always be a risk for some people - just like flu is really. It can kill too. The problem with Covid has been they had no treatments for the lung problems, they are different from the ones you meet with flu. But that is changing too
Just heard part of PM's speech, he said about all restrictions lifting soon, and we are to be sensible!...later children were asked what they thought about his "party" one said put him in the naughty room...another...put him in jail!...and so it goes on...
The government sent me extra cover If I was to test positive for Covid I contacted my GP for letter required for 4th vaccination She told me I was not entitled to one as I'm only on 3mg of prednisolone,and I had to be on at least 20mg a day to qualify She didn't take into consideration i started on 60mg in2014.
I am on 3mg but was offered one by my surgery. Had it last week
I’m waiting to see if my doctor phones me regarding the 4th vac, I too am only on 5mg pred but have been on much higher dose for 2 years, plus various immune reducing drugs.
Already advised in my reply.
I too had, let's say a disparity, between Rheumatologist who said yes to 3rd primary and GP surgery which said no. (I'm on a combination of methotrexate and prednisolone.) My rheumatologist wrote a letter to GP, and a copy to me which I took, in advance, direct to my local walk-in vaccination centre. No problem there getting note added to 3rd being a primary, then at 3 months after the 3rd going back to walk-in for a 4th booster.
Made me feel a little bit like the little red hen in the children's story - "All right, said the little red hen, I'll do it myself"
🤔🤷♀️
You may be banging your head against a brick wall , and your GP at the surgery will be doing it too , depending on which part of the UK you are living in.
Information is changing fast about the 4th vaccine booster in the UK and local Departments are not getting the rule changes handed to them as quickly as we often hear of them in the news.
If you are in an area where they have begun to stop giving a 4th jab , or all work to do with giving jabs is being done by a Covid service provider and not at local surgeries, that might be the issue , and you're GP won't be able to push it either , as they are stuck with the same local numbers to call as the patients are.
If your Rheumy is sure you would benefit from the 4th Jab you would be better served ringing or sending an email to their Secretary ( and let's face they are best placed to know if you need a booster because they have the records of your steroid use when you had the previous jabs ). They will hopefully be able to find out if it is possible for you to arrange with a local unit, or they may need to do the work to make sure you are given an appointment if they still want you to have it even if the rules have changed in your area. Good Luck
Thank you.
Surely it’s feasible to expect GPs to check THEMSELVES so they can do the best for their patients or would that be like trusting a two year old to clean their own teeth🤨
I was told my surgery is not doing anymore vaccines at the moment, apparently the doc was going to phone me yesterday regarding my booster, I’m still waiting for the phone call.
In certain regions in the Uk , particularly Wales , the vaccine programme was taken over by a different section of the trust so the GP only has the same access to information as the patients and they can't phone and arrange bookings either. Depending on the type of vaccine being used many areas elsewhere have had vaccinations moved to being done in hospitals and vaccine centres only and they also have their own system to contact patients outside the remit of the surgeries. Mayhem!
When I rang my gp to ask about a 4th jab he referred to the latest guidance dated 11th Jan he had received which stated only extremely clinically vulnerable needed one and he didn’t consider that I was. But he did say advice changes all the time!
Hi, I had my 4th vaccine yesterday. I found a walk in centre and as long as you can prove you are eligible they were happy to give it to me.
Hi, What part of the country do you live, I live in the south, I’ve not tried the walk-in centres but maybe that’s the answer, I’ll wait and see if my doc phones.
Hi, I live is Essex. The centre I went to was empty. Doc said as long as your last one was 8 weeks ago I could have it. I thought it was 91 days so had waited u til then 🤷🏻♀️
Hi, Was this for your 3rd or 4th, I also thought you needed to wait 12 weeks but then they changed it and started doing vac after 8weeks, but that’s for the 3rd booster jab. There is a great deal of confusion, as when I went for my 3rd vac I was told it was the same as the booster and wasn’t recognised as 3rd dose 🤷♀️
Yes the 3rd one was the same as the booster but the 4th is just another booster
Because they were desperate to get anyone moving through the boosters if those people had started receiving them late they seem to have checked their own stats and have started giving each booster at the minimum time allowed after the previous jab rather than the 12 weeks they stated first. I get the impression they are using the same shorter period for the break between jabs no matter which number jab you are on. It seemed to go through a bunch of changes in the UK just before Xmas when they were desperate to get Omicron under control and I don't think the medical centres , or anyones brains have caught up with the change yet.
Oh I agree, crazy.Xx
They may be pausing them ... dr suneel dhand released a YouTube video called 'News: EU medical Agency says too many boosters could impact immune system's... my neighbour who takes nothing at face value dug around further and double checked on the Who site and with the EU med agency site ... there is some worry over T cell exhaustion with multiple boosters (which by my lay man reading means could potentially be doing more harm than good as we need strong T cells for immunity) over a short time (the agencies say more research is needed!) and also an argument that the vaccine dose would be better spent on vac 1 and 2 in developing nations to 'build a wall'of immunity there to decrease further variants ... worth following up the info, I've followed Dr dhand for a while and he seems sound, certainly not anti vac and does always say it may be that the elderly/ people with compromised immune systems may need boosters if the rest of the population don't ... he seems very sensible opposed to a YouTube hoax... his other vids from a while back on the BMJ paper raising the issues of T cell exhaustion are also worth a watch.
Hi, Well I don’t need my immune system provoked anymore than what’s needed. I’ve been very lucky so far in not getting any new viruses or colds or chest infections, maybe because I’m staying at home mostly, since I’ve been on pred it seems to have helped me, I know that’s the opposite of what it’s meant to do but I’m not complaining, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it remains that way.🤞🤞🤞🤞🍀🍀
Might not be a bad plan of action! My 64yr old mum with pmr has done the same, she did still get omicron just before xmas, but did ok with it thankfully, severe sinus pressure over her eyes, needing to rest, flu-like symptoms .... I've heard that as virus' mutate they become milder ... a lot of people think that covid will have more of a flu-like status soon ( and that although more contagious, omicron itself is milder) and that the worst will be over by beginning of march/ mid March. Personally, I think regardless of how many vaccs we've had or not that the most important thing we can do is look after our immune systems best we can ... good food, good sleep, some exercise, vitamins like D3, looking at zinc rich food/ maybe a few supplementary drops, vitamin C ... it can take a lot of research (zinc isn't a vitamin you want to overdo) ... even not eating/ drinking (water, herbal tea without sugars/ milk are ok) over a 12hr period (7pm-7am for e.g) can help the gut biome work better, increasing immunity.
Look on the government website for vaccines, as there is info there, Here in Suffolk it is available to those who qualify. I had my fourth vaccine last week
I had a letter from the NHS. People on 10 mg or more of prednisolone (other drugs are listed too) are recommended a 4th covid vaccine 3 months after their last booster
I was contacted by my surgery as being vulnerable. So perhaps their on line system isn’t up to scratch. 😊
Perhaps ?😅😂
I have been chasing this since my 4th vaccination became due on 5 January. One receptionist at my GP practice told me to just book it online, so she obviously doesn't understand the system. When I found the one person who does know about it she says there will be a special clinic for people in my situation, probably on 9th February (dependant on vaccine supplies) in my locality. I understand there are logistical problems setting this up but clear information would do away with a lot of anxiety.
I had my 3rd just before my booster was due. My GP said to consider the 3rd as my booster . ‘Booster’ due in 3 months after the 3rd . I will just wait and see .
Well wait and see, this is my dilemma .
There is nothing to prove I/ we hadn’t made enough antibodies from 1st and 2nd Vax, no test. Reading the NHS letter is says ‘ You have been identified as ‘maybe’ needing a 3rd dose’. The letter was a bit wishy washy . From what I have read antibodies don’t last for ever even in non immune compromised people.
I haven’t been told I need a 4th dose apart being told I have to wait three months for my booster. Of course it could all change by then 🙂
Had my 4th jab on Monday.Had a text from my GP to attend our local vaccination centre in Nantwich Cheshire and show the text I had received.I am 76 my wife who is 74 attended with me in the hope she could also get her 4th but they refused her stating at present it was only for those at severe risk.
I have still not had my third primary dose because the practice manager at my GP surgery does not accept that it exists and it is not being offered at our local walk-in centre. The whole system appears to have been absolutely chaotic as I have had 14 texts it's a demanding that I get a booster karma but I cannot get the vaccination I apparently need.
That’s crazy, everyone should have 3rd vac, regardless of extremely vulnerable or not, it’s chaotic, and no wonder the virus is still about, if everyone has had a vac this country should be virus free, but until that happens it will continue, I’m absolutely fed up to the back teeth with anti-vaxers, they are responsible for this virus to keep spreading, I understand there are a very few people who can’t have it due to allergies, I accept that. I apologise if that’s offended anyone who is against vaccinations but I just want to get back to some kind of normal life
I had a letter last October from my NHS Trust(Bucks) telling me I was eligible for a third dose (I had already received a booster dose) but I was to wait for a letter from my GP before going to a walk-in centre and specifically was asked not to contact my GP. Heard nothing so phoned the Trust on 5th January who contacted my GP who produced a letter the next day and I had the vaccination on the 8th. so the system does work, but needs a push from the patient's end. Best of luck to you.
Hi, we have had a post from our surgery re 4 th jab…it says that we will receive either a letter or text saying that 4 th. Vaccine is due ( at least 91 days after 3rd) ..appointments can be made after that time and when available or you can take the text message or letter to a drop in.
I’ve just had a phone call from Pro-care and was able to make an appointment for my 4th vac. at a temporary site near Guildford (where I had the 3rd one) It seems there are different arrangements depending on where you live. Hope you get it sorted soon
Thank you
I agree that we need to be pro active in getting our 4th vaccine. I had my third jab on 17th October 2021. The Gov. website states that we can get our 4th vaccine 91 days after the third and we should be invited by our Gp or hospital consultant. At one of my routine blood tests in early January I asked the Gp receptionist when I would hear about my 4th vaccine. She said they were not dealing with boosters and that I should ring 119. I rang 119 and was told to contact my Gp. Agh……. Anyway, I rang 119 again last Sunday and spoke to a different person. He said that if I’d had a letter from the NHS stating that my third jab was a primary dose and not a booster I should have no problem getting a 4th jab. He told me which vaccination centre to attend. I went last Monday to the Centre armed with my letters. I was the only person in there! The nurse ran my letters past a doctor and then I got my jab, Pfizer. Apart from a sore arm I’m feeling ok. I live in Northampton. I hope this helps. 🤗
Hi, I will have a go at that, only trouble is I’ve had a clear out of letters so not sure if I’ve got that original letter 🤔
Hi, I was overlooked by my GP but received letters from NHS saying I was entitled to 4th vaccine. I went to the vaccine centre (no appointment) on Saturday armed with letters but they didn’t even ask to see them. Had 4th vaccination without problems. Maybe, get a copy of the letter your Rheumy sent to GP and walk in to a centre armed with that. Good luck!
I just saw a news report that a study out of Israel says the 4th shot is not helping with omicron. We do not have it offered here. Ohio/USA
That isn't really what they have said.
"A preliminary study published by an Israeli hospital on Monday found that the fourth shot increases antibodies to even higher levels than the third but "probably" not enough to fend off the highly transmissible Omicron."
It doesn't achieve a level of immunity that means you won't get Omicron at all - but it does appear to provide a high level of protection against serious illness.
You can make an appointment online or go to the nearest walk-in clinic.
My 4th due today and was sent a text from GP yesterday and went to the surgery today and just had 4th. You can go to a walk in centre with either a letter from your GP, or you can take the medication packets that make you immune suppressed and they should vaccinate you (this was on the NHS website).
Went into my GP surgery asking when my GP would be inviting me for my 4th jab. Blank looks.
So, instead of repeating the head-banging I had to do to get my 3rd jab, here’s what I did:
1. googled ‘walk in covid centre near me’.
2. found there’s one just opened in the car park at the local hospital.
3. trotted over there this morning, filled in a brief questionnaire, showed them my pack of prednisolone with date and dosage.
4. they called up my details on their tablet, verified that it’s 91+ days since the 3rd jab, and asked me a couple of questions.
5. had the jab, got a little card with the batch no etc.
6. went home, no after effects, feel good.
Hurrah
Well done 👍
Brilliant😟
To vaccinate or not to vaccinate?
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