Teenager going on holiday to Greece - or is she?

epm-84

Brie said:

Well that's me thoroughly slapped down!!  All I meant was there is so much info out there that sometimes a direct approach is the most efficient.  And I was trying to be nice about it too!!

And while I really do appreciate the NHS and much of what it has done in the last year I have mixed feelings about surgery reception staff due to errors they have made and a certain officious behaviour I've encountered.  That has included needing to go a doorstep them in order for them to consider vaccinating my MiL who at 94 and on multiple medications they considered "not  vulnerable" compared to healthy individuals in their 50s.

There is a lot of official information out there too.  For instance, I have an underlying health condition but I know from the official list that my underlying health condition didn't qualify me for early vaccination.  Those with disabilities (including learning disabilities) were also supposed to get early vaccination but again if you look at official information some of what get referred to as learning disabilities in educational settings are classed as learning difficulties for medical purposes and don't qualify someone for early vaccination.  So there's a lot of queries which can be answered without needing to phone anyone.

I don't know what the exact circumstances are for your MiL but I do know in the first instance the only vaccination available was Pzifer and it only be administered at a limited number of sites.  That meant even though care home residents were supposed to be done first, it meant the first people to get vaccinations were older people who were already due to attend out patient appointments at a limited number of hospitals.  Once AZ was available then they started on care home residents and anyone else who couldn't attend a vaccination centre.

I also get the impression surgeries sent texts to patients with links to book in the first instance, then called those without mobile phone numbers or who couldn't book that way, which is the quickest way of getting everyone booked and ensuring that empty slots get filled but did mean those who they didn't have a mobile number for were at the back of the queue.

Of course mistakes will be made and when mistakes are made then do contact someone.  I think the sensible thing to do in instances like that is to not phone when phone lines are likely to be busy e.g. first thing in the morning, especially on Monday and to use an email/website contact if possible when it doesn't need an immediate response.

However, a 94 year old who hadn't received their vaccination when they were routinely vaccinating lower cohorts is very different to a daughter's 18 year old boyfriend getting a 1st vaccine prior to going on a holiday, when there's no justification for him getting early vaccination.

Spendless

epm-84 said:

Spendless said:

My 18yo daughter has a holiday booked for Rhodes, Greece with her boyfriend (also 18) travelling July 8th . 
...
Re their jabs if this is relevant info.  Daughter has had her 1st covid jab this weekend, but it's not long enough time for her to get her 2nd jab before going. Boyfriend so far hasn't been able to have any so far as he lives in a neighbouring town, they haven't reached their 18 year olds yet and haven't offered any 'any age drop ins'. I've tried to get him in in our town instead, as he works here and until recently was also in education here but the criteria was the town where you were registered with a GP so ineligible.

Unless they live in an area where the Delta (Indian) variant is spreading, have one of the underlying health conditions/disabilities that allows them to get early vaccination or work for the NHS/ in social care then they aren't yet eligible for 1st doses.  25-29 year olds are the youngest age group that has been invited to book and that's only been the case since Tuesday this week.  Some under 25 year olds may have been lucky if older groups didn't fully book all slots and there some vaccine doses going spare which were then offered to anyone who could turn up.  You really did waste your time (and the receptionist's time) by getting in contact with a GP led vaccination clinic as GP surgeries can only offer services to registered patients except in an emergency and a routine vaccination is not an emergency.

As your daughter has had a 1st jab on 5th June, she should be eligible for a 2nd dose on or around 28 August (11 weeks after the 1st is the target for under 50s.)  Presumably she's been given the Pfizer jab and received the leaflet about the vaccine which states a 1st dose takes around 4 weeks to become effective and you don't get maximum protection until 2 weeks after the 2nd dose.  Therefore, if she hopes to go away on 8th July she needs to be very careful in the coming weeks, she's effectively still unprotected and could still easily get COVID until the vaccine takes effect (especially if she is somewhere where the Delta variant is in circulation), which could prevent the holiday from going ahead whether she wants to go or not.

I managed to go to Greece last year but the threat of potentially having to self-isolate and miss the holiday meant I only went out for essential reasons for the 2 weeks before going on holiday.

Daughter was contacted by our Drs surgery to book hers! This was a few weeks ago. Why, I have no idea. She has no underlying health issues. Her 18yo friend also registered with the same GP with no underlying issues was also sent a message to book hers from the same Drs surgery.  It was a few weeks ago before the Delta virus was dominating the news and she put it off until she did her final marked project at college, in case she got any side effects which affected her ability to attend college and subsequent grade. 

Please don't jump to conclusions about who I asked re her boyfriend. My mate who I have known for 40 years is a Nurse put the drop in information on her facebook page. I queried the criteria and she wasn't sure, but another of her facebook friends who I believe is a Dr, answered my question. No wasting of the NHS resources, ringing up the GPs surgery or bothering the receptionist took place. Unless you think I should not ask any questions on a personal friends social media re the NHS, in case any NHS staff  decide to use some of their leisure time to answer me!  The reason I queried was because it's the same Healthcare trust even though he lives in a different town! My Nurse friend's 2 eldest children in 20s but under 25 have had them done at the drop in clinics. These keep popping up from time to time here, we are NOT in an area mentioned for being high for Delta variant. 

Going forward perhaps it would be an idea to query something with the poster instead or forming false opinions that you post - just an idea!

Spendless

epm-84 said:

2childmum2 said:

There was nothing in the ops post that led me to believe they had phoned their GP about this, only that they had tried to find out whether the boyfriend could be vaccinated in their town, where it sounds as if extra vaccines are available for younger people, as is happening in some areas with high infection rates. 

'Tried to get him in' suggests contact was made with either a GP surgery or a GP led vaccination centre (if it wasn't GP led it wouldn't be specific to those registered with a GP in that town.)  If they had asked a question on a local Facebook group or asked a friend who works there then they probably would have said that.

As per my previous post, it was exactly that. My questioning was concerning tests on travelling abroad so I wasn't paying exact attention to every word I wrote, just trying to give some background  detail of where we were at. I googled and was unable to find the answer, so I asked on a facebook post (made by NHS staff) . By 'trying' I meant I spent time trying to find the answer
You could have queried exactly what I'd meant by my wording, but chose to jump to an incorrect conclusion instead. 

Spendless

epm-84 said:

Brie said:

epm-84 said:

 You really did waste your time (and the receptionist's time) by getting in contact with a GP led vaccination clinic as GP surgeries can only offer services to registered patients except in an emergency and a routine vaccination is not an emergency.

That's a bit unkind!  You only know things like this when you inquire and the surgery will know best what can be done.  Besides I'm sure it made the receptionist's day to have such a question - in my experience many of them love to snap at so called "time wasters"!!!

I was actually being very kind, considering I posted a whole load of useful information which can easily be found using Google or by reading the vaccine information leaflet that her daughter will have been given. 

I'm sure my surgery isn't alone in sending out texts to patients saying they'll be invited to book a vaccine when it's their turn and not to call the surgery asking about them and also saying to phone 119 not the surgery if you're planning to go on holiday and need proof of vaccination.  The reason they're doing this is surgeries have lots of additional admin to run vaccination clinics and as a result their admin staff are stretched.  You'll see from other threads some people have said trying to get hold of anyone at their GP by phone is difficult, some of these people have more important things to worry about then trying to queue jump their daughter's boyfriend for a vaccine for a holiday to potentially reduce the cost of testing.  

Have you ever worked in a role where you're trying to do 50 hours of work in 35 hours?  I guess not because you seem to think the receptionist will just be sitting around twiddling their thumbs and will appreciate having someone to talk to about anything, when the reality is making unnecessary calls to surgeries at the moment is putting overworked NHS staff under additional stress.  Some surgeries have actually had to withdraw from doing further COVID vaccinations because they don't have the resource to carry on doing them.

If the OP can post a message on MSE, then she is also capable of typing in COVID vaccinations into Google, finding the NHS booking system which is the top result and finding on the home page that those who are under 25 have not routinely been invited to book COVID vaccinations.  She is probably also capable of clicking the 'news' tab on Google and noticing that the NHS in many areas are now warning shortages of vaccines will cause a delay in the roll out, meaning her daughter's boyfriend, whose 18, may not get vaccinated until July.  Her GP's website also probably states about how visitors not registered with the practice can get treatment but only on an emergency basis, if not the NHS site will.

As an aside I read a thread in January where someone said they had received a text from their GP asking them to not to call about COVID vaccines but decided to anyway because her mother was over 90 and she was aware people over 80 were getting vaccinated, despite the government defining over 80s as one group not saying oldest first within that group.  It's like some people have selective reading or thing the messages apply to everyone else except them.

Yes, I've done exactly those sort of hours, and never worked for the NHS. Retail, private sector  admin and transport companies all have huge 'hands on' hours with more work than you've got time allocated to do it in.
 
I did google the question concerned and didn't find the answer re boyfriend. In the midst of looking my friend posted about the drop in surgery. As she's a Nurse I thought she might know.  It also wasn't the question I asked about  on here, I asked about the requirement to visit an Amber country, having spent several hours on google, getting thoroughly confused by the wording of articles. I even found a Government website that kept taking me back to the same link. It was only when I got completely stuck and not understanding I posted on here for a more simple explanation.
As you seem to wish to know about how much time I have spent 'bothering' people about covid vaccines
My own (underlying health condition) I received a letter from the NHS and booked both online
Husband  & Daughter received letter/text  from Drs and did the same.
All contacts were by THEM! So please stop going on about how I would have 'probably' would have worded it a different way. When this wasn't what I was asking about you've took it on yourself to form an opinion on. At the same time please look up the definition of 'probably' which you say about me several times because it doesn't mean 'definately'
Now you've established that I haven't wasted NHS time or resources, please cart that high horse of yours off to a different thread to graze on!  

Spendless

sheramber said:

What you must do if you have been in an amber country or territory in the 10 days before you arrive in England.

You must follow these rules even if you have been vaccinated.

Before travel to England

Before you travel to England you must:

• take a COVID-19 test
• book and pay for day 2 and day 8 COVID-19 travel tests – to be taken after arrival in England
• complete a passenger locator form

On arrival in England

On arrival in England you must:

• quarantine at home or in the place you are staying for 10 days
• take a COVID-19 test on or before day 2 and on or after day 8
• ...............

You may be able to end quarantine early if you pay for a private COVID-19 test through the Test to Release scheme.

Green list

You must follow these rules even if you have been vaccinated.

Before travel to England

Before you travel to England you must:

• take a COVID-19 test
• book and pay for a day 2 COVID-19 test – to be taken after arrival in England
• complete a passenger locator form

On arrival in England

You must take a COVID-19 test on or before day 2 after you arrive.

Travel to Greece
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/greece/entry-requirements#entry-rules-in-response-to-coronavirus-covid-19

You must wear a face mask at all times when on an aeroplane, bus, train or ferry travelling to or from Greece; and whilst at airports.

The following measures are in place with respect to travel to Greece:

• Travellers must fill in a Passenger Locator Form (PLF) no later than 11:59pm of the day before arriving in Greece. Please see below for further guidance on the Passenger Locator Form.
• Arrivals from the UK must provide either; proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test, undertaken within the 72 hour period before arrival into Greece, or proof of two COVID-19 vaccinations completed at least 14 days before travel (see Demonstrating your COVID-19 vaccination status). Travellers with proof of either are exempted from the need to self-isolate on arrival to Greece.
• Failure to provide proof of either may result in your carrier not allowing you to travel and will likely result in the Greek authorities refusing you permission to enter Greece.
• The exemption from self-isolation detailed above also applies to arrivals from the EU/EFTA states, or one of the following countries; Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Thailand, Rwanda, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Russian Federation, United States, Serbia, Israel, North Macedonia, Canada, Belarus, Bahrain, Qatar, China, Kuwait, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Bosnia-Herzegovina.
• In addition, arrivals into Greece may be required to undergo a rapid COVID-19 test on arrival.
• If you test positive on arrival in Greece, you (and those you are travelling with) will have to self-isolate in quarantine hotels provided by the Greek state for at least 10 days. The expenses of the accommodation in quarantine hotels are covered by the Greek state. Local authorities will be able to offer further advice on self-isolation requirements.

You should not use the NHS testing service to get a test in order to facilitate your travel to another country. You should arrange to take a private test.

You must comply with all instructions given by the Greek authorities. Failure to do so may result in you being refused permission to enter Greece and/or legal enforcement.

You should also be aware that if other passengers on your flight, bus, train or ferry later test positive, you may be subject to further quarantine/self isolation requirements. These will be mandatory and you should comply with the Greek authorities’ requirements.

Thank you. I eventually got to the point where I couldn't work out how they got tested in Greece. The 'amber' packages you buy didn't seem to have that test in them, hence part of my confusion. It's now a moot point anyway. I've just been contacted by daughter. Their flights have just been cancelled. 

HampshireH

Been reading his thread with interest.

In our area vaccines were opened up to younger age groups earlier than the government announcements as they have been so efficient in their delivery.

I also didn't and dont know anyone who got a leaflet about their jab. I got my vaccine card with the number on and my name no accompanying leaflet thought.

OP if they are buying tests best to check the trust pilot reviews and seems to be a lot of issues with some companies

CKhalvashi

Spendless said:

sheramber said:

What you must do if you have been in an amber country or territory in the 10 days before you arrive in England.

You must follow these rules even if you have been vaccinated.

Before travel to England

Before you travel to England you must:

• take a COVID-19 test
• book and pay for day 2 and day 8 COVID-19 travel tests – to be taken after arrival in England
• complete a passenger locator form

On arrival in England

On arrival in England you must:

• quarantine at home or in the place you are staying for 10 days
• take a COVID-19 test on or before day 2 and on or after day 8
• ...............

You may be able to end quarantine early if you pay for a private COVID-19 test through the Test to Release scheme.

Green list

You must follow these rules even if you have been vaccinated.

Before travel to England

Before you travel to England you must:

• take a COVID-19 test
• book and pay for a day 2 COVID-19 test – to be taken after arrival in England
• complete a passenger locator form

On arrival in England

You must take a COVID-19 test on or before day 2 after you arrive.

Travel to Greece
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/greece/entry-requirements#entry-rules-in-response-to-coronavirus-covid-19

You must wear a face mask at all times when on an aeroplane, bus, train or ferry travelling to or from Greece; and whilst at airports.

The following measures are in place with respect to travel to Greece:

• Travellers must fill in a Passenger Locator Form (PLF) no later than 11:59pm of the day before arriving in Greece. Please see below for further guidance on the Passenger Locator Form.
• Arrivals from the UK must provide either; proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test, undertaken within the 72 hour period before arrival into Greece, or proof of two COVID-19 vaccinations completed at least 14 days before travel (see Demonstrating your COVID-19 vaccination status). Travellers with proof of either are exempted from the need to self-isolate on arrival to Greece.
• Failure to provide proof of either may result in your carrier not allowing you to travel and will likely result in the Greek authorities refusing you permission to enter Greece.
• The exemption from self-isolation detailed above also applies to arrivals from the EU/EFTA states, or one of the following countries; Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Thailand, Rwanda, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Russian Federation, United States, Serbia, Israel, North Macedonia, Canada, Belarus, Bahrain, Qatar, China, Kuwait, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Bosnia-Herzegovina.
• In addition, arrivals into Greece may be required to undergo a rapid COVID-19 test on arrival.
• If you test positive on arrival in Greece, you (and those you are travelling with) will have to self-isolate in quarantine hotels provided by the Greek state for at least 10 days. The expenses of the accommodation in quarantine hotels are covered by the Greek state. Local authorities will be able to offer further advice on self-isolation requirements.

You should not use the NHS testing service to get a test in order to facilitate your travel to another country. You should arrange to take a private test.

You must comply with all instructions given by the Greek authorities. Failure to do so may result in you being refused permission to enter Greece and/or legal enforcement.

You should also be aware that if other passengers on your flight, bus, train or ferry later test positive, you may be subject to further quarantine/self isolation requirements. These will be mandatory and you should comply with the Greek authorities’ requirements.

Thank you. I eventually got to the point where I couldn't work out how they got tested in Greece. The 'amber' packages you buy didn't seem to have that test in them, hence part of my confusion. It's now a moot point anyway. I've just been contacted by daughter. Their flights have just been cancelled. 

I get the flights are cancelled, but they will have needed to buy the test through a private provider in the same way as they would have had to in the UK. Details of local facilities can be found here in Rhodes. I can't vouch for any of the companies listed, and an only posting to help anyone else in this situation.

Spendless

Holiday is back on changed to a week later. it seems to be a problem with the flights (condensing them maybe). It does 'buy' slightly more time to purchase these tests.  

CKhalvashi

Spendless said:

Holiday is back on changed to a week later. it seems to be a problem with the flights (condensing them maybe). It does 'buy' slightly more time to purchase these tests.  

Not Greece, but I have been in Ukraine on business several times this year. Greece is probably busier international travel-wise than the cities I've landed in, but I was able to call and get a test booked for 2 days later. I was also asked if I wanted a test on this day, so I'd imagine many locations can do similar.

For testing before departure and on return I can recommend Collinson, who are based at many airports. Not the cheapest, but results back quickly and nice staff. They will need to have their own transport if using this option as the testing is on-site.

Spendless

CKhalvashi said:

Spendless said:

Holiday is back on changed to a week later. it seems to be a problem with the flights (condensing them maybe). It does 'buy' slightly more time to purchase these tests.  

Not Greece, but I have been in Ukraine on business several times this year. Greece is probably busier international travel-wise than the cities I've landed in, but I was able to call and get a test booked for 2 days later. I was also asked if I wanted a test on this day, so I'd imagine many locations can do similar.

For testing before departure and on return I can recommend Collinson, who are based at many airports. Not the cheapest, but results back quickly and nice staff. They will need to have their own transport if using this option as the testing is on-site.

Thank you. Neither drive, though. We do, so I suppose it's an option here but I'm guessing you mean over there too?   As they're  teenagers, they've paid for this hol by a combination of p-time earnings and childhood savings, so we do need it to be as cost effective as possible. I expect bank of Mum and Dad may need to step in if it proves too expensive. From what it sounds like, you are contacted (by their holiday company?) whilst away to sort out your test to fly back to England.