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Coronavirus - 4th Vaccination Dose

My wife has received a letter from the Hammersmith Hospital saying she should have a 4th dose and to take the letter to a vaccination centre, which she will do in about a week's time (ie 3 monyths after the 3rd jab).

She has co-care between the Hammersmith and the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital. In a telephone consultation today with the RD&E, it seemed possible that the RD&E either does not know about a 4th dose for CML patients or is not reccommending it - not sure which!

I thought I ought to post here because I know there are CML patients under the RD&E who might well want to check the position with their consultant at the RD&E.

In case it helps, the JCVI advice about a 4th jab is clear - see here. Further, Blood Cancer UK set it out too - see here

Hope that helps.

 

David ,

Your posting indicates that all is not well in terms of how the additional dose is being handled following the government announcement last September concerning the needs of the immuno suppressed.From previous postings on here some have been lucky to have had a very proactive GP who has organised the whole process whilst others have had absolutely no help at all even when requested and the unwillingness of GPs to even issue a letter when requested by the patient.It surprises me that NHS hospital staff are not aware of government advice even;however I suppose one should not be surprised especially as a percentage of health sector staff have no intention themselves of becoming vaccinated and are not on side.

However another explanation might be that the R D and E actually has very few CML patients to deal with and is unaware that we might be classed as immuno suppressed;because CML is a fairly rare condition so many young GPs  for instance have not seen a CML case.

When I had my 3rd jab I did it via a walk in centre but as they were busy had to show relevant documents and so on-not easy.Then they had no facility to record a Third Primary Dose even though they said it was just that , so it went down on my record as a booster.

I did some weeks ago call 119 option 4 to ask NHS to correct my records but after a lengthy conversation the process was we will call you back in up to 21 days but so far there has been no call.

I now have a consultants letter so in a few days will go and walk in and hopefully will get my booster or number 4.

I think that overall health service provision is very patchy and that the rollout of the third primary dose after an initial flurry has now been forgotten about unless the patient persists.

Regards

John

University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) simply ignored my Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request enquiring into whether it has complied with the third and fourth vaccine process set out by Government. However, UHB did issue letters to patient after that date and correctly followed process.  

I have a telephone number at the UHB to ring when my twelve weeks since my third vaccine are up and the fourth vaccine falls due. This is far better than having to negotiate with the receptionists and nurses at my GP surgery.

Hi, I must admit my surgery have been fabulous ,been completely on the ball .They have rung me every step of the way to invite me for my jabs.They rang yesterday and I am having my 4 th jab this afternoon. Hope everyone gets theirs soon ,good luck ,Denise.

I also had a letter from Hammersmith confirming i needed a 3rd and 4th vaccine. I took it to a walk in vaccine clinic at a local pharmacy and they checked the letter and waived me through.  All done in15 minutes with a friendly smile from the nurse.

The nhs website has a list of walk in centres if you put in your post code.  Blood cancer UK suggest going to one that says it is offering the 3rd primary and booster which is what i did.  It is recorded as a 2nd Booster on my nhs records and the vaccine clinic knew exactly how to record it.

Good luck.

 .

I must admit I have had no problems getting four jabs. I had my third primary dose last October and my booster on Wednesday. On each occasion I showed my vaccine record cards and I was not questioned about anything. 
All my jabs were booked through the government covid website.

Diane

I have also had no problems getting my fourth covid vaccination but through my GP s surgery. I am pleased I am having it next week in view of the latest Government announcement saying masks are not needed anymore. 

To add to this, I had my quarterly clinic call. At Barts they run an COVID antibody test alongside all the usual ones each time. I had antibodies to the spike protein, but no remaining nucleocapsid antibodies - i.e. the ones you would get from actual COVID infection (which I had). 

My doctor emphasised the importance of keeping up with booster schedules, even though because of some administrative problems with my early AZ doses I have actually already had 5. My 6th would be due in mid Feb, 3 months after my last one which again she said it was still a good idea to keep on top of it.

I am quite surprised I haven’t caught COVID again recently - I have had several “near misses” with this like a large outbreak in kids nursery and put this down to good resistance from vaccines.

David.

Hi David

I am a patient at the RD and E. I had Jab 4 on Thursday at Tiverton walk- in . My consultant ,in his routine 3 monthly letter post phone consultation to both myself and my GP, wrote that I should have the 4th vaccination/booster and also the monoclonal infusion if I should catch Covid. I took this letter to the walk -in centre. My consultant knew about the infusion and said to let him know within 5 days of testing positive with my personalised PCR test and he would arrange the drip at the hospital and if I couldn't get there he would have the tablets sent to me. I was enormously impressed!! When I spoke to him ( my appts are by phone and have been for many years) he didn't know about Jab 4 but was happy to put it in the letter after I asked him.

I was also phoned by my GP surgery last Saturday to be offered Jab 4 but I explained not till after Wednesday as that was my 3 month wait since Jab 3. No probs at all at the Tiverton walk in centre - 20 staff and only me there. I avoided the Exeter places - too many people around.

Hope your wife is doing well,

Best to you both

Chrissie

Hi David

It is interesting that you have had so many vaccinations.I am going to have my Number 4 ,whatever we want to call it,this week.

It did cross my mind that as Covid and also the vaccines are going to be around for a while it might not be a bad idea to plan a No 5 in 3 months or so time ;there seems to be lots of capacity at some of the walk in centres. With a letter from the consultant I imagine getting additional jabs in the future is not going to be an issue.

Being in my late 70 s without vaccinations I dont think that I would be in the good state that I am in.

Regards

John

I had my 4th today at a local pharmacy. This time it was so easy without the need to upset the practice nurses as happened when I requested the third dose.

I suggest that you take a look at Dr. John Campell's videos (post pinned to the top of this page) especially the second one: A lesson in Immunology with Professor Robert Clancy

Sandy

More is not better. Especially when it concerns the immune system. Overloading your immune cells with the same vaccine risks weakening it to new Covid variants. ADE is one concern, but protein overload is another.

Think of it this way - continually "boosting" forces your body's immune resources to deal with that one variant leaving little else for what comes next (in layman's terms). Put another way, The booster shots are for the original Covid - not the new mutations such as Omicron. This is why so many vaccinated people came down with Omicron. By continually "boosting" with the same vaccine, you weaken your immune systems response to the next variant.

This will just go on and on until the medical bureaucrats and the media stop the fear mongering and chasing the latest variant. Now there is BA.2 and BA.3 .... and on it goes.

You are doing damage to your immune system by continually "boosting". It's not natural and your body will weaken as a result.

 

Interestingly (perhaps), I had Covid over Christmas and then a hospital appointment for CML in the New Year. N protein antibodies were not detected, apparently, which really surprised me!  Plenty of S ones.  Anyway, I have just had dose 4/booster. I agree with others that we need to reach a point where the virus is considered endemic, as has just happened in Denmark. That has to be the end point.  Unfortunately, not everywhere thinks this way (yet), in particular in Asia. I'm due to travel there next month so having my additional dose/booster was ultimately a decision based on maximising my chances of not testing positive by PCR (we have to test three times: once 72 hours before leaving the UK, once on arrival and once on day 4 or 5).  I have no doubt that should I come across COVID again, it will be mild, as it was over Christmas, but that won't necessarily stop me testing positive and with Omicron and its relations, there's so much about and it's so infectious, I want to take what steps I can to minimise the chances.

On the science and views pro and against further boosters, as a scientist (and lawyer) myself I'm very wary of single articles or videos that may fit our own/one point of view and feed confirmation bias. One needs a more balanced review, then decide which opinion has the strongest basis.  The short answer is nobody knows yet, for this virus, these vaccines and how many doses may be problematic and when.  We need research and balance. I'm also I'm afraid not a complete fan of Dr Campbell - a lot of what he does is good and useful information, but he gets things wrong where he is going beyond his own expertise. There's a video from an expert online which critiques Dr Campbell's own video on Ivermectin vs Pfizer antiviral, and the critique is pretty strong albeit delivered with tact and care by a real expert in that particular field. So I do watch his stuff, I just don't necessarily take it at face value and check if there are contrary views or more detailed explanations... 

 

 

Richard

Thanks for that. I totally agree with you about taking care when looking online in the area of vaccines. My wife will follow the advice of her Consultant who is, in turn, following the reccommendations of the JCVI. That seems to me to be the safest course for all of us.

The NHS vaccination appoinment booking web site has now been updated to enable bookings online for a 4th dose. So it is not necessary to try the option of a walk-in without an appointment . I have just booked my wife in for her 4th dose for tomorrow. She will take with her the letter from the Hammersmith Hospital saying she shjould get a 4th jab.

Royal Devon & Exeter CML patients - in converrsation yesterday with that hospital, my wife was told that the government has only just told them about a 4th dose for CML patients and certainly my wife has not had a letter from them, even though the government issued the guidance for immunosuppressed people in December 2021. If anyone reading this is a patient at that hospital and has not been told in writing by them to get a 4th jab, you may want to contact your Consultant about it.

Hope that helps.

Hi Richard

I completely agree with your 2nd paragraph.  I prefer to take information directly from an expert and even press reports based on them can be written with a bias.

I think it is important on here to respect that every one looks at things differently and has different opinions. What works for one person is not the right thing for another.  No ones opinion or view should be dismissed or belittled.

I think we all agree more research is needed into Covid and the best protection from its worst outcome.  

Richard I also had covid over Christmas. My wife and I were both pinged by the NHS app on 22/12 that we had on 18/12 been in contact with someone who had later  tested positive. We did lateral flow on 22/12 which were negative, and then PCR on 23/12. I was positive on LF test on 24/12, and my PCR was reported positive on 27/12. My wife however who had had her booster on 4/12 was negative all the way through. I had symptoms of a mild cold but was pretty tired for about 10 days.

I had my 3rd vaccination in October, which after discussion the surgery was able to re-classify as a 3rd primary dose, meaning that I got called for a booster last week. Between the booster and the infection I think I should be fairly safe for a while, but still not taking any major risks.

 

Additional information:

https://naturalnews.com/2021-09-10-neurologist-explains-why-vaccinated-p...

Geert Vanden Bossche, PhD, DVM, is a vaccine research expert. He has a long list of companies and organizations he’s worked with on vaccine discovery and preclinical research, including GSK, Novartis, Solvay Biologicals, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Dr Vanden Bossche also coordinated the Ebola vaccine program at GAVI (Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization).

Good science is always about asking questions. And hypothesis testing. It's not about "balance". "Evidence should drive us to reconsider what we know and apply our knowledge in a different way". READ the above linked article by Jemma Moran and think about the data, ideas and concepts presented. Draw your own conclusions regarding forcing mRNA vaccines and boosters in light of viral evolution.

One year into the great experiment, we have a wealth of global data to inform our
conclusions. This data largely contradicts the confident hypothesis with which we
embarked upon this journey and has therefore been ignored. Scientists and politicians
have clutched at straws, manipulated data or simply ignored the evidence in an attempt to
safeguard the integrity of the original idea.In a politicized environment where other factors than 'hypothesis testing' is at work, some questions scientists ask are suppressed - labelled misinformation. If "balance" is to be applied, then let the scientists debate openly without suppression of one set of hypothesis over another so light of learning can occur.