20/21 Flu Jab

Marmaduke123

Not too late to contact your GP or 111 for advice. Your GP might well not have any over 65 vaccine left. Next year be proactive and go through your GP in the first place.

ladyholly

I will next year but as I said I was trying to help my gp by using the pharmacy. That's what comes of trying to be considerate to health services.  It will certainly cost the NHS (taxpayer)  a lot more if we covid and flu.  I dont get your proactive comment as I think booking early Sept was proactive. We didn't find out the app was cancelled until we arrived at the pharmacy for the vaccination. As said they were saying they would be getting more in which is why I have been waiting. Should have ignored that but I thought they would know what they are doing. Obviously not! 

sheramber

What they order and what  they get are two different things.
 https://www.well.co.uk/flu-jab-services/flu-jabs

Unfortunately, we do not have enough stock of the flu vaccine to meet the massive increase in demand that we have seen this year. We have therefore taken the decision to suspend appointment booking both online and in our local Well Pharmacies.

Although we had anticipated that demand for flu vaccines would be high in light of COVID-19, we have not been able to secure as much stock as we had expected.

https://www.pharmacynetworknews.com/641719-we-will-run-out-of-flu-vaccines-next-week-pharmacist-warns

By Pharmacy Magazine

24 Sep 2020

A superintendent pharmacist has warned that branches of his independent chain will need to start turning away patients requesting flu jabs as early as next week due to record demand.

Peter Horrocks, superintendent pharmacist at Knights Pharmacy, said that despite ordering 30 per cent more vaccines than in 2019 “we are now out of stock in our warehouse and the only vaccine left is residual stocks currently being used from within the pharmacy”.

He said that over the first three weeks of the service Knights branches have “pretty much delivered what you would normally see in the whole season.” In addition to over-65s there has been strong interest from health and social care workers, he told Pharmacy Network News. 

“I anticipate all stock will be gone at some point next week,” he said, adding that while he had a “small delayed provision of stock due in October” most of this has already been pre-ordered by patients eligible for free NHS flu jabs.

  https://www.gazetteseries.co.uk/news/18831345.concerns-gps-chemists-run-flu-vaccine/

Boots and Lloyds Pharmacies have suspended their online flu jab booking services. North Yate Pharmacy confirmed they have no supply for the over 65 vaccine and a limited supply, that they are running on a first come, first serve, clinic basis for 18-64 year-olds.

Last year my GP surgery got three vaccines for over 65 's. They had to give the rest of the  over 65's the one for the under 65's.  

ladyholly

I know they have closed booking but my point remains the vaccinations were booked at the beginning of Sept and at the time of booking, when we went for vaccinations or in the communications I have had since have they said there is no vaccine left in fact I one email last week I was told to keep checking at the pharmacy. This to me is a strange way of running things. Surely someone somewhere  knows what there is/will be available. If I had run my business in such a way  would have gone broke. Incidentally according to doh there is no shortage of vaccine. 

Aranyani

ladyholly said:

Had an app for husband and I on 29th sept. It was cancelled. I still cant get any sense out of Lloyds pharmacy why an appointment booked at the beginning of September is still outstanding. All they tell me is on line booking is now closed. I didnt book on line I booked in the pharmacy but can get no information from the shop, customer services or anyone else except they will contact me for next years vaccination!!! I would add that dh is over 70 and I am over 65. I have contacted CEO of Lloyds, emailed them several times even contacted my MP but am getting nowhere. Anyone got any ideas?

Go somewhere else?  GP, Tesco, Asda, local independent pharmacy...

Torry_Quine

ladyholly said:

No I have had no communication from anyone. I do wonder how many other people roud here are in the same position as I live in an area with  a high number of elderly people. As up to now I can get no information I don't see a letter would have helped. I foolishly assumed the pharmacy would do as they said and let me know when they had the vaccine so I can only assume that in the last five weeks they have not had any.  If I had been late booking I could understand the problem but as I booked at the beginning of September they must have known how many doses they would need. I just don't get it. 

Here the system is that you're meant to get a letter which has the appointment on it. Mine didn't come so I called the helpline and they gave me an appointment. I only called on Tuesday and my appointment was this morning.

silvercar

Torry_Quine said:

ladyholly said:

No I have had no communication from anyone. I do wonder how many other people roud here are in the same position as I live in an area with  a high number of elderly people. As up to now I can get no information I don't see a letter would have helped. I foolishly assumed the pharmacy would do as they said and let me know when they had the vaccine so I can only assume that in the last five weeks they have not had any.  If I had been late booking I could understand the problem but as I booked at the beginning of September they must have known how many doses they would need. I just don't get it. 

Here the system is that you're meant to get a letter which has the appointment on it. Mine didn't come so I called the helpline and they gave me an appointment. I only called on Tuesday and my appointment was this morning.

You are very lucky. I contacted the GP to be told that even though the government said all over 50s should have it, they didn't know when or if they would have enough stock. That was when I started ringing local pharmacies. I still don't understand why I was charged, given the gov said it was meant to be free to all 50+.

ladyholly

I am ringing gp on Monday as I have given up with Lloyds.  The only other pharmacies round here are Boots who are not booking. However no one seems to have got my point that a company that has taken my booking then didn't tell us they had cancelled it  until we got to the pharmacy and then misled us about re booking it in the near future. Their head office incl CEO have no interest in helping so I think that I will return the compliment and not patronise them. 
In England you have to sort yourself out which is not working. 

Barny1979

ladyholly said:

I am ringing gp on Monday as I have given up with Lloyds.  The only other pharmacies round here are Boots who are not booking. However no one seems to have got my point that a company that has taken my booking then didn't tell us they had cancelled it  until we got to the pharmacy and then misled us about re booking it in the near future. Their head office incl CEO have no interest in helping so I think that I will return the compliment and not patronise them. 
In England you have to sort yourself out which is not working. 

We get your point, but unfortunately it is no nearer you getting vaccinated, so rather than waiting and hoping for a company that doesn't care to respond and maybe apologise, you need to be proactive and book through another channel and wait for Lloyds to respond and give them both barrels at some point.

ladyholly

That is what I am doing just hoping gp can do it as all other avenues seem fully booked. Lloyds have had several barrels but I shan't forget and will get an answer from them one way or another.