Posted 3 days ago

Private covid vaccinations

With private covid vaccinations starting up earlier this month, it seems like there may be an opportunity to get better deals for people. The standard cost for a dose of Pfizer seems to be around £100, which will put it out of reach for many people who haven't been able to get a booster in years. But pharmadoctor, a service pharmacies can use to offer vaccinations, just confirmed that Novavax doses are starting to get delivered.

twitter.com/Pha…978

Pharmadoctor may well not be the only such service that pharmacies can use, but seemingly they're the only one who's been publicising the process. Novavax is a non-mRNA protein vaccine which has some evidence suggesting that it's more effective at promoting an immune response, is more resistant to different strains, and has fewer side effects. Crucially, it's also significantly cheaper per dose, possibly as low as £45.

Unfortunately, there is a drawback which means that pharmacies may be hesitant to offer it. Wheras the Pfizer vaccine comes in single dose vials, Novavax only comes in five dose vials, which ideally need to be used as soon as possible once opened. So some pharmacies may not want the risk of having unused doses, and may charge more for a booking to cover for it, or may only let you book at all if you have a group of five people who can use the whole vial in one go.

I thought it might be useful to start a discussion thread where people can share what they've heard from their local pharmacies, what policies they're adopting, and possibly even help people to find others in their local area who might be able to group together if that's what's required.
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  1. Azwipe's avatar
    I'd have a read of this before having any more boosters (this is a credible source so i expect the mods wont remove it) ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc…39/
    Peesh's avatar
    If hukd allow this post and link to remain I'll forgive the mods for their twuntish behaviour over the last few years.
  2. Rugrats's avatar
    Well it seems that the admin at hotukdeals removed the youtube video of Dr Campbell:
    "We've deleted your comment from the following thread as we deemed it to be off topic and something which is not useful to the thread discussion:"

    If you love yourself, make sure you know everything about the vax....
    Willy_Wonka's avatar
    Although there was a lot of information the video is not helpful at all, so in that respect they were right. The information given was just a series of statements that on there own were probably correct but that is where it ends.

    You were just told this number & that number but they didn't even attempt to explain why & certainly no consideration of all factors that could of contributed to this number or that number. In fact they didn't even go in to numbers much at all.

    So, it was a pretty useless video. (edited)
  3. Willy_Wonka's avatar
    I should imagine they are free on the NHS if you are in a risk group (edited)
    MilkTheFrog's avatar
    Author
    Some can, but the government's definition of who falls into an "at risk" group is not based in evidence and keeps getting smaller and smaller. People with asthma were never considered outside of the initial rollout, for example. And notably, they have recently removed eligibility from unpaid carers, meaning you can live with someone who is severely at risk and won't be able to protect against infecting them yourself.
  4. _Whatever_'s avatar
    Do people still care about covid?
  5. CremeDeMenthe's avatar
    Honestly I regret having mine the first time around, I have had heart palpitations ever since and am constantly fatigued with brain fog making everyday things much harder to do.
    HappyShopper's avatar
    Likewise, I deeply regret getting jabbed but my circumstances dictated I had to get the vaccine

    Have recently started to have, what I believe, are heart issues.

    Went to A&E earlier in the week and my bloods and ECG showed no signs of imminent heart attack and the doctor said my symptoms of chest pain and pain/numbness in my left arm and across my back are not heart related but I'm not convinced.

    He's referred me for further tests but I can't help but feel the vaccine is a factor.
  6. Gj9382's avatar
    Really.
  7. dorey69's avatar
    I personally wouldn’t get any more jabs!
    They are all about profits and not health
    MilkTheFrog's avatar
    Author
    Hence Pfizer trying to force novavax out of the market, despite it being more effective, having less side effects and cheaper.
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