Angel of the north kindly suggested I Yellowcard my reactions to the vaccine. Does anyone know how one does this?
Secondly, how do you find somebody’s reply to one of your posts. When I press “see you reply“ it takes me to all the healthunlocked list of postings but not to the actual reply to my post.
You go here:
coronavirus-yellowcard.mhra...
Also now a pinned post - see the pinned posts!
MHRA Covid-19 Vaccines and Yellow Card Links
How useful is this process anyhow? I read a couple of days ago that MHRA reported in 2009 serious adverse reactions with the prescription drug that I took in 2015. I received no warning about the side effects I've suffered since from my GP or anyone else and the drug is still being openly prescribed now in 2021.Seems pretty pointless to me!
Oh and before you ask, we completed a Yellow Card in 2016. At the time, we felt it was a worthless exercise (and didn't know about the 2009 MHRA report then) and so it seems.
Despite individual experiences, I consider it vital.
The 2012 Teva levothyroxine issue was revealed by Yellow Card reports - though I accept the ones from registered doctors appear to have the greater impact.
If you imagine a medicine dispensed to some number of patients - let's take 10,000 as a random reasonably large number.
If they get 1,000 Yellow Card reports, I am quite sure they WILL sit up and take notice.
But if they only get 10 or so, which sadly seems all too likely, they won't be obvious against a background of a few reports here and there about many things.
If we do not send in reports, we end up complicit in the issues being ignored.
If we do send in reports, we have at least held our hands up to be counted. If they are then ignored, it won't be because we didn't do our bit.
Well we did "our bit" in 2016 but strangely it doesn't make me feel any better - particularly when I read things like I did a couple of days ago!
I suspect the drugs companies realise the weakness of the YC scheme including the fact that maybe only 10% of those affected bother to complete one. The other 90% are too sick to care! Hence it doesn't stop them manufacturing their poison at high profit.
Wouldn't be too difficult to suggest something much better - but big pharma probably won't allow it!
What suggestions do you have?
The Yellow Card scheme as it is now represents a potentially huge shift from how it started. To begin with, only medical professionals could make reports. And reports were on paper forms.
Now if we wish, we can jump to it and do a report ourselves, start to finish, in less than an hour - likely far less time. And know MHRA have received it.
Getting more than 10% of patients to make reports probably needs putting on our "let's all do it regardless" fedoras on rather than our "what's the point?" panamas. Even in the face of experience.
I think it is possible for a friend or relative to make reports if the person themselves is too ill - but I'd have to double check that is so.
I don't get paid the bug bucks that others would to come up with an alternative but I'm certain I could whether having brain fog (a remaining side effect) or not. Maybe being more proactive, not reactive.
I agree that cards only completed by doctors are even more useless. But how many people search for Yellow Card data before considering a drug anyhow? For example, back to the main point of the post, my mum is considering the vaccine but was shocked when I researched to find ~50k UK Yellow Cards so far. Be honest, did you know? I don't recall Matt Hancock or Boris quoting those figures during multi-briefings!
Whilst the current scheme may have improved, it's principle remains poor.
Yellow card action
Vaccine Reaction 
Battleing to take Thyroid Medication, Does anyone know why & how to stop this reaction?
