Vaccinationwoes

Thank you for publishing Dr Jennyharries’adviceonbeing fully vaccinated against both flu and Covid (Scotsman, 11 October). We have been following her advice.

But I wonder how she would advise us to obtain these vaccinations. NHS Lothian has set up an extraordinarily complex and ultra-secretive system which is anything but user-friendly and clearly proboris grammed with incomplete content, whereby 81-year-olds were sent to highly inconvenient venues for flu vaccination with no mention being made of Covid boosters. Logging on was impossible. Both cases known to me can no longer access the system as both were wrongly told they could cancel and rebook, one after several rebookings to get the date for the joint vaccination later than six months after the second Covid vaccination, the other simply for asking for a more suitable venue. He was greeted with: “They have sent the letters out too early!”

Flu jabs, though not Covid boosts, are easily available in neighbourhood pharmacies, unlike last year when disabled nonagenarians were sent to centres in Princes St Gardens.

Some things have been learned in that the blue envelopes sent out to younger partners did refer to Covid boosts, but the dates of the appointment were still within six months of the second Covid vaccination. The period for moving the appointment had been extended to a fortnight, which must cut down on the number of reappointments. The next step will be when appointments are in a convenient centre, at a clinically appropriate time, with full information.

MARINA DONALD

Edinburgh