Clarity, hope and despair over vaccines
It might be useful to clarify for your readers the vaccination programme for those over 80. I was contacted on Saturday by four local residents, all in their 80s, about an NHS letter they had received asking them to book an appointment in Birmingham for a Covid-19 vaccination.
The letter caused some concern, particularly as these were all people who did not drive. South Warwickshire clinical commissioning group has confirmed that this was a nationally generated letter and that attending the Birmingham centre is an additional choice for patients. Residents will still be contacted by their local GP practices and invited to attend their local vaccination centre. So people can choose either to attend a national site or wait for their GP practice to offer them an appointment at their local vaccination site. If this is made clear it would be helpful. Susan JunedAlcester, Warwickshire
• I received my Covid-19 vaccine on Saturday. The procedure felt safe and simple, and the jab – itself a wonderful example of international scientific collaboration – was painless and without side effects. I travelled to the appointment with anticipation, and returned home with gratitude and optimism. While the face masks, hand washing and social distancing enable me to function in the present, the vaccine is my ticket to the future. In overcoming the Covid pandemic, we are strengthening our innate sense of shared purpose and common humanity. Those attributes will help us to tackle the next universal threat to our future: global heating.Jon LaneAshbourne, Derbyshire
• On Saturday, I received my second Covid-19 vaccine dose. I have not seen my daughter since Christmas 2019. Lockdowns and her moving to Wales, where the “circuit breaker” lockdown kept us apart, made meeting impossible. After three weeks, when I have established full immunity, what is to stop me visiting her? The nurse said: “The government rules say no.” I asked for an explanation. “Well, the vaccine might not work for you,” I was told. This makes no sense. Unless we trust the vaccine we will never get out of lockdown, suppressed panic will be here for good and the whole vaccination exercise will have been for nothing. Karen HewittOxford