A tale of two vaccines.

Mon 1 Mar 2021, 08:55

Following on from Simons comment, could people exercising please be a bit more considerate? I passed a jogger along Market Street on Friday who was panting and wheezing, projecting his breath into the surrounding air which I and others had to walk through. On Saturday a cyclist passed me on Market Street (going the wrong way) while coughing his guts up! again, projecting his breath droplets all around... Very charming and considerate.

Both of these men were the top end of middle age so should know better...

Mon 1 Mar 2021, 06:58

The wording of  the NHS website has been changed so that anyone  over 60 can book a vaccination

Sun 28 Feb 2021, 17:49

Judging by the groups of people around Charlbury this weekend, both young and old, wearing no masks and not social distancing from each other, that COVID 19 is no longer a problem?  The vaccine must be working well!

Sat 27 Feb 2021, 19:00

My husband and I both had our jabs at Carterton Health Centre on Thursday - very well organised and everything went smoothly- well done to all concerned 😊

Sat 27 Feb 2021, 18:24

Went to Kassam yesterday, all was great. You will be asked about your NHS number about 10 times, and you have to wait for someone to type that into a laptop every time. It would be even better if there was an booking app and a QR code - it'd be much more streamlined and they could probably double the throughput.  I realise not everyone has a smart phone, but it would work great for the 80% of the population that have one.

Thu 25 Feb 2021, 16:06 (last edited on Thu 25 Feb 2021, 16:08)

I have to echo Helen's comments about how well it is organised down at the Kassam and the plus point of the online booking of a jab there is that you also choose the date for your second jab, so I already know I will be going back there on a specific date in early May.

Everyone at the stadium was polite, cheerful and helpful - whether they were paid workers or volunteers.  Excellent effort.

Based on Helen's comment that it took 30 minutes to get back from Carterton, I have to say that it wasn't that much longer going to Kassam!

Thu 25 Feb 2021, 15:04 (last edited on Thu 25 Feb 2021, 15:38)

I had my Pfizer jab at Carterton this morning, following a telephone call from CMC last week.

Carterton Health Centre is easy to find and there are plenty of marshals to ensure everything went smoothly. I only had to queue outside for about 10 minutes before being invited in, where there was a further short wait before getting my jab. You need to take your form from the medical centre with you with sections 1 and 2 completed. My only (slight) concern was that the post vaccine 15 minute wait area is relatively small for the numbers and some people were voicing their concern. I had a second mask in my bag so thought it prudent to ‘double mask’ – which apparently greatly increases effectiveness.

It took less than 30 minutes to get home and I had stopped noticing my very mildly sore arm by the time I was back home and no other side effects.

My husband had his Astra Zeneca jab at the Kassam stadium this afternoon.

He said it was very straightforward, but you might want to ensure you take your NHS number as he was asked for this a number of times and it is not on the booking paperwork. He also only has a mildly sore arm.

The organisation at the Kassam was very efficient, again with lots of marshals, and the centre was busy, full but flowing freely.

We are now both the proud owners of our vaccination record cards – however if it makes a difference to you he was also given a ‘I have had my Covid vaccination’ sticker which he is very pleased with!.... (In case you are wondering, we are in different priority groups and the date is just coincidence)

Thanks to everybody who made this possible, from local volunteer marshals, the NHS, the scientists, manufacturers, volunteers and also the government, for getting something right for once.