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The BMA said reorganizing appointments for tens of thousands of patients would cause “ enormous logistical problems ” for the practices. He said existing appointments should be honored and that he would support GPs if they decide to vaccinate patients who are due to receive a second vaccine next month.
The decision to postpone appointments to 12 weeks after the first vaccine follows the updated advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunizations (JCVI) that as many people as possible in at-risk groups should receive the vaccine. first dose of vaccine. As cases continue to rise across the country, it is hoped that vaccinating more with a dose of Pfizer or Oxford / AstraZeneca will provide more people with short-term protection against the virus. .
DHSC said on Wednesday the decision would also extend to anyone with an appointment for follow-up after Jan.4. A letter from NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens yesterday said appointments should be rescheduled to the week before the 12 week deadline ‘in most cases’, but he said clinical discretion could be applied if necessary.
Meanwhile, Pfizer released a statement on Wednesday saying its vaccine was not meant to be taken 12 weeks apart. He said the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine had not been evaluated on any dosing regimen other than 21 days between injections. He added that “there is no data demonstrating that protection after the first dose is maintained after 21 days”.
Impossible task
An NHS England primary care bulletin on Wednesday acknowledged that moving appointments would be “ important work for general practice at a busy time ” and it was considering how it could support practices in this task.
A number of GPs on Twitter said that “ at least ” appointments for next week should stay in place, with many saying it would be impossible to reschedule so many vaccinations in such a short time.
I think the clinical discretion here is that this is logistically impossible .. Unable to cancel and re-enroll all of these patients within the next 2 days. After that, it makes sense to move to a 12 week gap to provide more people with some protection as soon as possible. https://t.co/JGxRfBK5Aw
– Rammya Mathew (@RammyaMathew) December 30, 2020
Oxford GP Dr Helen Salisbury invited Health Secretary Matt Hancock to come and help her practice with the task of reorganizing appointments. She said her PCN would have to cancel and reserve 1,160 jabs, which would represent around 193 hours of work.
Can I ask @MattHancock come do a shift on our phones, ring our 80+ pts to explain that their 2nd dose of vaccine has been canceled?
Our NCP needs to cancel 1160 apps and book another 1160. At 5 minutes per phone call, that’s 193 hours of work. Not to mention the heartache and the anger– Dr Helen Salisbury (@HelenRSalisbury) December 30, 2020
Professor Steve Cox, president of RCGP’s Mersey faculty and general practitioner in St Helen’s, Merseyside, said on Twitter his practice would not revamp second vaccinations for those over 90 because “ the logistics for caregivers were too big ”.
A GP-run vaccination site in Kent said it had reached an agreement with its GCC to continue the second vaccination as planned next week.
Everything is sorted!
Continue the vaccinations as planned for next week.
Approved by CCG ????@teamgp
Common sense prevails@Kent_LMC @NHSEngland @DrSimonHodes @NHSKMCCG Thank you! It was not possible to change at this late stage– Yvette Doc ?? #WearAMask (@ yvettedoc50) December 31, 2020
The BMA said many general practitioners have contacted it to say that the decision to delay second doses for those already vaccinated would have a “ negative impact ” on the well-being of their most vulnerable patients.
GPs on Twitter also expressed concerns about the medico-legal implications of waiting 12 weeks to administer the second dose, especially since patients had already consented to the second dose three weeks after the first and in the light. of Pfizer’s statement on how its vaccine should be used.
“Very unfair”
BMA GP Committee Chairman Dr Richard Vautrey said: ‘It is manifestly unfair for tens of thousands of our most at risk patients to now try to reschedule their appointments. Local leaders tell us that it is neither professional nor practical to change the appointments of thousands of frail elderly patients, especially those who have already booked and who have already made arrangements to have their second vaccination in both. next weeks.
“The decision to ask GPs, within such a short time frame, to re-enroll patients for three months, will also cause huge logistical problems for almost all vaccination sites and practices. For example, to come into contact with even two thousand elderly or vulnerable patients it will take about a week for a team of five staff in a practice, which is simply untenable.
“The government must see that it is only right that existing reservations for the older and most vulnerable members of our society are honored, and it must also publish as soon as possible a scientifically validated rationale for its new approach.
NHS England confirmed on Wednesday that PCNs would now be paid after each dose of the vaccine was given, rather than after both were given, as moving to a 12-week gap between doses’ would delay payment to an unreasonable extent ”.
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