AstraZenica ascendant and QMU no more

After our initial return to Pfizer we have switched once again to AstraZenica. This has roughly corresponded with when we made the switch in March so that we can continue to provide second doses to the same cohort of people.

As we power through May we are now regularly seeing 700 cars each day and delivering first and second doses on a ratio of about 1:5. As a result I have increased my hours for the next month or so from 16 to 24 hours a week. It all feels very well paced, useful and satisfying.

We mostly see people in their fifties and upwards coming for their second jag and some younger people for their first. However AstraZenica is not now offered to anyone under 30 and anyone under 40 can choose to have it or opt to be sent elsewhere for an alternative. Quite a few thirtysomethings seem happy enough to opt for the AstraZenica once they have had a chat with a vaccinator.

On another, sadder note the drive through service at QMU is ending next month. We will deliver our final vaccine on Sunday 13th June. Apparently it was logistically very difficult to find any available sites across Lothian that suited a drive through set-up and despite searching for suitable alternative venues, none has been found. I understand that our closure date relates to some planned roadworks which would make the operation of our site problematic.

Most regular staff at the site are a wee bit saddened by the news as we have developed a good bond and strong sense of camaraderie as we battled with the elements from early February to deliver this unique and distinctive service. A lot of the staff who work here live in East Lothian and the locations of many of the other vaccination sites will not be very convenient for them. I expect we will lose quite a few. For myself I anticipate I may be offered shifts at the EICC which is a much larger site and entirely indoors. As a result I will miss not only my colleagues here at QMU but also the wind, the sun, the rain, the views, the hail, the cold, the warmth and the wet...but at least I always knew what kind of day it had been.

All staff have also been asked if they would be prepared to extend their contracts to the end of October. I have tentatively agreed in principal to this but it will depend upon my assessment of my new working environment at EICC or elsewhere and my judgement of the need for large numbers of staff to continue with a mass vaccination effort into the autumn. The latter seems likely in order to ensure that all younger cohorts get second jabs but the former will have to wait and see.

My next blog will likely be my final one from QMU.


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