![\"Notts](\"https:\/\/www.diaryofanadi.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ezgif-notts-covid.gif\" "\\"Notts")
Well, we have a vaccine, but we\u2019re not out of the woods yet. We\u2019re close, but not in time to \u2018save Christmas\u2019.<\/p>\nWell, we have a vaccine, but we\u2019re not out of the woods yet. We\u2019re close, but not in time to \u2018save Christmas\u2019.<\/p>\n
Actually, people are pissing me off more and more all the time. There are still<\/strong> those who believe it is all a hoax, closely followed by those who believe we should \u2018just get on with life\u2019 as if the virus didn\u2019t exist. Many refuse to wear masks, and many refuse to comply with any restrictions. And the media encourages them.<\/p>\n My local newspaper keeps publishing \u2018updates\u2019 on cases in the Nottinghamshire area, and these frequently contradict each other depending on whether they are reporting daily or weekly figures, or if they publish them just after a government announcement. The real problem – apart from the obvious fact the journalists who write the articles clearly don\u2019t understand what they are saying – is the nutjobs who read it and then comment on it, because they mainly consist of the anti-vaxxers and deniers.<\/p>\n The animated GIF at the top of this article shows how cases have varied between the beginning of October and last week across Nottinghamshire. Each frame represents the one-week rolling average taken from the Government website interactive map<\/a>, The white areas are labelled as \u2018suppressed\u2019 on the Government website – which could mean anything from \u2018not measured\u2019 to \u2018deliberately withheld\u2019 (and given that the white areas exist from as recently as December, and in some cases relate to areas desperate to get out of Tier 3, that latter possibility isn\u2019t as unlikely as it might seem).<\/p>\n There is no pattern whatsoever. It\u2019s like a kaleidoscope. And yet the aforementioned nutjobs immediately see any of the paler areas (including the white in some cases) as justification for opening up and carrying on as normal, egged on by the newspaper in question trumpeting loudly at any low figures after a period of high.<\/p>\n The simple fact is that you can be pale green one week and purple the next,<\/p>\n The other annoying detail is the vaccine rollout. I said we had one at the start, but I am suspicious. You see, my mum and dad are 84 and 92, respectively. Both have COPD, and they are therefore in the higher risk categories. I came across this Vaccine Queue Calculator<\/a> today, and ran both my parents\u2019 details through it. It suggests they will be vaccinated between 22 December and 18 January. I\u2019d not have any major issue with that a) if it turns out to be accurate; and b) if it wasn\u2019t for the fact that the BBC was trumpeting about how Prue Leith had been vaccinated earlier this week<\/a>.<\/p>\n I have no issue with Ms Leith being vaccinated and wish her well, but I cannot understand how or why she has been done so soon. She\u2019s \u2018only\u2019 80 and she is working normally – which suggests no earth-shattering underlying health issues that no one knows about. She\u2019s also pictured queuing and walking into the clinic normally, and I can assure you neither of my parents could do that – even if they\u2019d been asked to do so. There are people who are considerably higher in the Priority Groups who haven\u2019t been contacted yet – this 108 year-old lady only got it today<\/a> (yes, she\u2019s in Wales and not London, but it\u2019s still odd).<\/p>\n Having my parents done is all the more important, since I\u2019m not due until March next year – whether I have an underlying health condition or not!<\/p>\n Then there was a story which suggests we might be throwing vaccine away<\/a>. The US has scrapped an order whereby one sixth of the vaccine was being discarded, saying it was a \u2018labelling error\u2019. From what I can gather, each vial contains a clear 5 injections-worth, plus a bit extra to make sure that can be achieved. It\u2019s the \u2018bits extra\u2019 that are being discarded. The reasons why this was happening are quite complex if you\u2019ve ever worked in the industry, but they are<\/strong> primarily bureaucratic in nature (unless you ask a pharmacist).<\/p>\n There is no reason whatsoever – other than bureaucracy – why the extra bits can\u2019t be combined and used. That\u2019s what this story is detailing. Fortunately it is pharmacists and GPs who are advocating it, so a lot of the potential bureaucracy is stripped away. But it raises the question of what the UK has been doing, and indeed it would appear that some vaccine has been wasted<\/a>. It is likely it still is.<\/p>\n Pfizer has said:<\/p>\n At this time, we cannot provide a recommendation on the use of the remaining amount of vaccine from each vial; this is a matter for regulators to advise on. Excess vaccine from multiple vials must never be pooled.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n If it\u2019s from the same batch there is no solid reason why it cannot be pooled. Even if it\u2019s different batches there\u2019s still not much reason (unless you speak to a GP or pharmacist before they<\/strong> thought of it first).<\/p>\n\n