Andy Onchan

Why only Ward 20? It hasn't stopped other parts of the UK from using sports stadiums, even the Excel centre.

Quite so. +1 The re-purposing of the airport as a vaccine centre is going to end up being a very expensive pair of dogs bollocks. I hope one of the journos asks why so much money is being spent on such a basic requirement.

Like I said before, they have a strong lobby in those Corridors of Power. ETA: Give it until end of next week and there'll be shouting again, same as last time.

And to cap it all they're rolling it out for the +80s at Ward 20, where parking is an absolute nightmare. They should start talking to the Vagabonds Rugby Club & the football club (can't recall which club shares the Ballafletcher sports site) to see if their clubhouse can be made available, there's going to be no sport there for a while anyway. The car park there could be cordoned off to allow for easier access. It's all on the level and access to/from the main road at Nobles is easy. And why can't the registration and booking an appointment all be done at the same time?

I read somewhere that Pfizer have allowed for 20% wastage in their production plans.

Said exactly the same earlier in the thread.

It's freely available to purchase in USA. A business colleague of mine has already purchased the equivalent of three lots of doses for vaccination next week.

I don't understand the Prof's logic (and I'm also a dunce on these matters but I'll have my two pennyworth! ). The vaccine wasn't available when it produced a variant (in fact quite a few), so it's entirely possible that the current vaccines will prevent any further variations etc. Until a certain percentage (and I've no idea what that may be) of the population has been vaccinated we won't know if that will happen.

Hasn't Dr Glover already offered to do that? At least that's what she has said, IIRC from a posting somewhere.

But it's not really new or experimental, at least the backbone of the vaccine isn't, that's one of the reasons why it got to market in record time and it's also why the PHE/JCVI and even HMRA are confident in the efficacy trade-off in regards to the 2nd jab. I'll leave it there on this particular part of the debate.

But the evidence is there for the first shot, PHE is using the data provided by the producers it's not their own interpretation. Arguably (as you are), they may be some doubt about it's efficacy after 21 days but if I understand correctly the biology is the same as any other vaccine program. The body learns to recognise the threat and deal with it. Do we really have the time right now to argue whether the booster should be 21 or 60 days? Looks like we're going to have to agree to disagree.

Can't disagree with that but was really referring to the private sector construction lot.

Try looking at it the other way around. There is evidence that the first shot provides "considerable protection". They wouldn't be saying that if the trial data didn't say that as well. Keep in mind that in the early days PHE were saying even a 30% efficacy would be enough to allow immunity to develop.

I think Van-Tam is working on the principle that a single vaccine is better than no vaccine at all, especially for those who are part of the "active" population, ie. those who may not be frontline but a necessary part of the functioning of society. I haven't read anywhere yet that the vaccine producers have warned against the change in dosage. However, the UK MRHA said, "although optimal efficacy was achieved through two doses, both vaccines “offer considerable protection after a single dose, at least in the short term.” Then there is the immediate problem of the logistics of the fill and finish part of the supply chain. Right now that part of the process is way behind the actual manufacture of the vaccine. That's why I said earlier in the thread that IOMG should start making stats available about projected & actual immunisations per group. Without that data the public will assume the worst and that they are doing bugger all. If, for whatever reason, IOMG vaccine program grinds to a halt then it can only be because of supply chain issue outside of governments control. If they haven't already done so, IOMG should be drawing up plans to delay the 2nd jab as well.

Jonathan Van-Tam thinks otherwise.

There will be a U-turn on construction. The same as last time. It's a sector with a powerful voice in the corridors of Tynwald.

So when and how many are to be vaccinated next? Would-be good if there were some credible statistics imparted so that we can see proper progress. They can do it with the tests etc, so they should be able to do the same with the vaccine roll out. That's assuming there's a plan.

Exactly. Think of the advertising this could bring to the Biomed sector that Skelly is so keen to remind us of that would cost millions! They really are arseholes of the highest order.

I think if I was an insurance company I'd think twice about insuring a shell company that had only one customer.

Definitely the latter.

You forgot the critical services of a bunch of rail welders!

IOMG are going to have a hard time convincing me that this isn't in the community.

Social distancing to be reinstated would be my guess.

I imagine DOI will be employing one of their contractors and paying for it and then doing an internal transfer across to DHSC. Whatever, seems to me to be an unnecessary waste of resources. Would have been cheaper to buy mobile screens from UK DHSS warehouse (for which IOM DHSC has access) and can be used multiple times.

Can't believe what I'm seeing..... that's got to be way OTT??? But then I s'pose if DOI are involved it will be over-engineered and well over budget.