Got my Covid booster yesterday and feeling lousy today. This has quite surprised me because I had only quite a mild reaction to the first two.
Getting the jags has been a very mixed experience. The first two were very easy. Up here in Scotland you are sent an appointment by mail - the "famous" blue envelopes - and we were invited to attend our local treatment centre (a sort of mini hospital just 10 minutes drive away with plenty of parking - you could walk it easily in half an hour) where we were given the Pfizer product, first one in January and second in April. I had minor reactions, which is usual for me, much as I get with a flue jag and Mrs J got almost no reaction at all - again not unusual for her. It all went very smoothly with minimal queuing and no confusion.
Then the summer went by and a couple of weeks ago we got invitations to get our flue jags. Strangely this was not at the local treatment centre but involved a considerable journey to the Royal Highland Showground at Ingliston out to the west of the city. Before the due date we began to hear that other neighbours had also been assigned to this centre and had had considerable problems, one having to queue for around 3 hours and that doesn't take the journey time into account. We both have health problems and decided this would not work for us so rang the phone number to rearrange our appointments. A disaster! waited for ages and gave up a couple of times before the call was answered and got absolutely nowhere once we got through. Very annoying also when they keep telling you that the average wait is three and a half minutes and are still telling you that twenty minutes later but with no indication as to where you are in the queue. The biggest problem was that the person on the phone was obviously in a big answering centre somewhere and had absolutely no idea where the venues being offered to us were actually located. Most were actually further away then the Highland Show Ground! We gave up and decide to try again on another day!
Then, whilst collecting our medications at the local pharmacy, I was served by our neighbour's daughter (one of the assistants). We know this family well so I was chatting and mentioned our problem and she said "Oh, we are doing those, would you like me to book you in"? Within the week we had received our flue jags!
A couple of days later I was checking the blue flue invitation letters to see if I could bin them or if they had info I needed to keep, when I noticed Mrs J's seemed to be also inviting her to have the Covid jag at the same time (mine only mentioned the flue). Info was now circulating that some of the folk who had been out to the Show Ground had been given their Covid boosters at the same time as the flue jag. So, now worried we'd "short circuited" the official way of doing it by getting our flue jags at the pharmacy, I rang the phone number again. Another long wait but I persevered, and ran into the same problem. Yes we could make appointments to get our boosters followed by a whole load of totally unsuitable venues. I got so fed up with this I handed the phone over to Mrs J and went off to buy a wedding anniversary card and also found a nice Christmas card too. Returned home to find Mrs J had managed to get a booking at our local treatment centre in two weeks but they refused to reserve one for me as they needed to speak to me personally to verify my identity! What ???!!!***
Anyway, I made a nice cup of cappuccino and settled down to sort an appointment out for myself. Another long wait before getting through. Specifically requested an appointment at the local treatment centre only to be told there were none available in the foreseeable future - for two months minimum. Then it occurred to me that my older boy had got his initial covid injections at a centre out in a village south of the city, so I asked if there were any appointments there (thinking I could travel out to my boy's house prior to the appointment and then nip along "just in time") Oh yes sir, there's three tomorrow, when would you like to go. I ended up with one in the early afternoon.
So yesterday, I jumped in the car and left home at around midday - which was just as well because the traffic through town was horrendous, roughly doubling the usual journey time. Arrived at my boy's house in time to spend ten minutes with them and admire my grandson's latest Minecraft construction (including a train journey through the wee world he's creating - amazing!) Then it was off to the covid centre. Very well organized. Lots of signposting and quite a big centre with lots of staff directing you, a reception desk to initially channel you, then a medical chap in a booth - one of many - to do the computer questions and log you in, then passed on to the nurse in another booth - again one of many - who actually sticks the needle in your arm. All very efficient indeed and I was in, jagged and sitting in the waiting area, within about 15 minutes. Absolutely wonderful! Very friendly nurse/assistant to chat to while doing the compulsory 15 minute wait too! It really couldn't have been done any better!
The strange bit, considering how difficult it had been to get the appointment, was that I saw hardly a soul who was not a staff member. It was like the ghost of the Marie Celest. There was noone in the treatment booths near where I was and only three other people in the recovery seating area. One other person joined us before I was told I could go. How was it that the booking service thought there were only three appointments available when there were potentially a lot more, possibly even hundreds? Had I know this I would have taken Mrs J with me and I'm sure they would have given her's to her at the same time. Now she's got to wait for the end of the month and she's much more vulnerable than I am.
I find myself wondering what on earth is going on? The process of arranging to get the appointment was not easy at all, I suspect many would just give up and you couldn't afford to waste so much time if you were still working etc. But the reality at that treatment centre was that they could have done hoards of people even just in the time I was there. The biggest problem though is that if you can't avail yourself of the appointment sent to you in the "blue" letter and have to rearrange, None of the people I spoke to on the phone had any real idea where the treatment centres are geographically situated or where I geographically am so they couldn't identify suitable venues to match up for me!
This time I didn't get the Pfizer I got Moderna and my body isn't too happy with it. As the first two Pfizer jags didn't cause me more than a wee bit of discomfort, maybe I wasn't prepared for this Moderna. I have a pain from the left side of my skull, down my neck, shoulder and down to just below the elbow, when I move it's like bad arthritis - injection was given in my left arm. Also a bit of a headache and some mild shivers - like a mild fluey feeling. I don't like taking medication unless I have to but Mrs J says I'm so grumpy I have to take Ibuprofen and Paracetamol. She's shoveled some into me just before I started doing this post and I'm beginning to feel quite a lot better already. So, I'll just have to keep "taking the pills" I suppose?
Please don't think I'm ungrateful NHS people. You've done some wonderful and invasive things to my body over the years and it's all been a great success. The attention I received at the covid centre just couldn't have been better and all the medical and admin etc staff were so friendly and efficient. Something it seriously wrong with the telephone booking setup though!
There we are then, I'm done - both in terms of being completely inoculated and my moaning! - Until the next time anyway.