Is the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine safe?
As doctors at the Haddenham Medical Centre, we are fully agreed that the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is safe and effective.
The UK's Medicines andHealthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have all looked into the risk of the AZ vaccine and blood clots and have said that the available evidence does not suggest that blood clots in veins are caused by the COVID vaccine. In fact, as blood clots are such a common problem with severe COVID infections, there is good reason to believe the overall numbers of blood clots will reduce by using the vaccine as there will be fewer COVID infections causing clots.
Bottom line: would we be happy to have the Oxford/AZ vaccine ourselves or for our parent/partner/child to have it?
YES!
How are we doing with the COVID vaccination programme?
We continue to play a major role in providing vaccinations at the GP-led Aylesbury Vaccination Hub at Stoke Mandeville Stadium. We are grateful to our team who have agreed to work there often in their free time, at weekends and during holidays. We also are inspired by the large numbers of volunteers who are working there including many who are our patients and members of our Patient Participation Group.
We also have patients having vaccinations at the pharmacy-led Aylesbury Odeon site, the mass vaccination centre at Bucks New University in Aylesbury, and more locally with the pharmacy-led site at JMW Vicary in Haddenham.
We want our patients to be protected as soon as possible. So our advice remains: when you are invited, get whichever COVID vaccine you can, wherever you can, and as soon as you can.
How many patients have been vaccinated?
The Government celebrated a few days ago that half of all UK adults have now received a first dose of a vaccine. For our practice, 61% of all adults have now received their first dose. Over 90% of the top nine priority groups have been had their first COVID jab – these groups include the over-50s, frontline health and social care workers, people
who are clinically vulnerable (the "shielding group") and those at higher risk of hospitalisation.
So what next?
We will be starting soon to invite patients to book an appointment fortheir 2nd dose. We will contact you – please do not ring us!
Dr Mark Howcutt
Haddenham Medical Centre