Covid vaccine

Covid Vaccine

Photo credit: Greg Martin, Cornwall Live

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Covid Vaccine Product Information Leaflets:

PFIZER VACCINE

AstraZeneca Vaccine

Information on vaccination and blood clotting:

Public Health England Guidance

Information about your appointment

You will be given a vaccination card at the first appointment, which you must bring to your second appointment.
You should not drive for 15mins after the vaccination.
Face masks must be worn.
Please wear loose clothing so that the clinician can easily access the top of your arm.
Side effects – these are similar to the flu vaccination, such as: having a painful, heavy feeling and tenderness in the arm where you had your injection – this tends to be worst around 1-2 days after the vaccine, feeling tired, headache, general aches, or mild flu like symptoms.

If your appointment is for Carlyon House, this is the building opposite the Polkyth Leisure Centre in St Austell. The postcode is PL25 4BX. There is a large car park, but parking charges still apply as usual and you may risk getting a fine if you choose not to buy a ticket. Toilets will not be available for patients to use at this site. There are volunteers working at the site to help to direct you.

For more detailed information about covid vaccinations, please visit the NHS website.

The Anaphylaxis Campaign website contains a useful series of FAQS on Covid-19 Vaccines and Allergies.

Cornwall Live have made a video about a reporter's experience of having the vaccine at Carlyon House. It is available on the Cornwall Live website.

Information about home visits

We are carrying out home visits to offer vaccination to housebound patients. Our staff will be visiting in pairs, and will carry ID. If you do have any concerns you can always ring the practice on 01726 75555 to check that these are our staff.

Mass vaccination sites

Covid vaccinations are also being offered at mass vaccinations sites. Mass vaccination sites are located at The Royal Cornwall Showground in Wadebridge, Stithians Showground, Roche Pharmacy and Reeds Pharmacy in Truro.
Invites for these sites will be sent to eligible patients by letter. You can book an appointment via the NHS website if you have a letter or are in one of the eligible groups listed on the website.
If you are unable to travel to a mass vaccination site, you can choose to attend the Carlyon House clinic instead. Please be aware that this may be a longer wait for an appointmment.

Covid Vaccine Updates

13th April 2021:
If you are over the age of 45 you can now book your Covid vaccination appointment online via the link below.
We have very limited vaccine supplies. You are strongly advised to book an appointment at one of the mass vaccination sites.
You can book the mass vaccination site appointments online here:
www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/book-coronavirus-vaccination/

23rd March 2021:
Second Covid vaccination appointments.

Last week we changed how we manage the Covid vaccination appointments, and we are now able to provide you with a date for your second appointment when you attend the clinic for your first appointment.

For those of you who have received a first dose of Covid vaccination, but do not yet have a date for a second appointment, please do not worry. We have not forgotten you, and will be contacting you to arrange your second appointment at around the 10 or 11 week point.

We do not have exact dates for the current vaccine deliveries, and so cannot schedule these appointments far in advance. We are also working in a strict order to book patients in according to the dates of their first doses.

Please do not contact us to book in your second appointment, but wait for us to contact you. If you have not had contact from us by the beginning of week 12, then do please call.

If you have changed your telephone number recently, please let us know by emailing reception.sahc@nhs.net

Thank you for your support.

16th March 2021:
⭐️First dose update⭐️

We would like to share some data with you on the progress of Covid vaccinations for our patients. The following are the percentages of each group who have received their first vaccine. We will soon be starting on second vaccinations, and will be contacting patients to arrange this.
Age over 80 = 97%
Age 75-79 = 96%
Age 70-74 = 96%
Age 65 - 69 = 94%
Age 60 - 64 = 90%

Clinically extremely vulnerable = 94%
At risk = 79%
Carers = 72%
NHS and social care workers = 86%
We are currently still working through the following groups:
Age 55 - 59 = 67%
Age 50 - 54 = 42%
(If you are age 50 or over and still waiting for a vaccination appointment, please email your name, date of birth and mobile number to info.sahc@nhs.net).

A massive thank you to everyone involved.

12th February 2021:
Covid vaccination update for the at-risk groups (cohort 6).

We have sent out some text message invites for the at-risk groups in cohort 6.

Your text message will look like the image below. Please note that we will never ask for your bank details.

Covid vaccination priority groups

This poster explains the priority groups for the covid vaccine. Please do not call the surgery to ask about the timing of vaccinations - we will contact you when we are able to offer you an appointment.

Please note that we have multiple staff working on booking patients into the covid vaccination clinics, and bookings may not occur in a strict order within the priority group (i.e. an 82 year old may have an appointment before an 83 year old). We will contact each patient as soon as poosible, and thank you for your patience.

For more information on the nationally set priority groups, please visit the gov.uk website.

Priority group 6: at risk groups

The Government has provided clear guidance on the medical conditions that are included in the at risk groups. Please find details below:

Chronic respiratory disease: individuals with a severe lung condition including:
- asthma that requires continuous or repeated use of systemic steroids or with previous exacerbations requiring hospital admission
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) including chronic bronchitis and emphysema;
- bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis, interstitial lung fibrosis, pneumoconiosis and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).
Chronic heart disease (and vascular disease):
- congenital heart disease, hypertension with cardiac complications, chronic heart failure, individuals requiring regular medication and/or follow-up for ischaemic heart disease. This includes individuals with atrial fibrillation, peripheral vascular disease or a history of venous thromboembolism.
Chronic kidney disease:
- chronic kidney disease at stage 3, 4 or 5, chronic kidney failure, nephrotic syndrome, kidney transplantation.
Chronic liver disease:
- cirrhosis, biliary atresia, chronic hepatitis.
Chronic neurological disease:
- stroke, transient ischaemic attack (TIA).
- conditions in which respiratory function may be compromised due to neurological disease (e.g. polio syndrome sufferers). This includes individuals with cerebral palsy, severe or profound learning disabilities, Down’s Syndrome, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, motor neurone disease and related or similar conditions; or hereditary and degenerative disease of the nervous system or muscles; or severe neurological disability.
Severe and profound learning disability
Diabetes:
- any diabetes, including diet-controlled diabetes.

Solid organ, bone marrow and stem cell transplant recipients
People with specific cancers
Immunosuppression due to disease or treatment:
- including patients undergoing chemotherapy leading to immunosuppression, patients undergoing radical radiotherapy, solid organ transplant recipients, bone marrow or stem cell transplant recipients, HIV infection at all stages, multiple myeloma or genetic disorders affecting the immune system (e.g. IRAK-4, NEMO, complement disorder, SCID).
- individuals who are receiving immunosuppressive or immunomodulating biological therapy including, but not limited to, anti-TNF, alemtuzumab, ofatumumab, rituximab, patients receiving protein kinase inhibitors or PARP inhibitors, and individuals treated with steroid sparing agents such as cyclophosphamide and mycophenolate mofetil.
- individuals treated with or likely to be treated with systemic steroids for more than a month at a dose equivalent to prednisolone at 20mg or more per day for adults.
- anyone with a history of haematological malignancy, including leukaemia, lymphoma, and myeloma and those with systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriasis who may require long term immunosuppressive treatments
Asplenia and splenic dysfunction:
- this also includes conditions that may lead to splenic dysfunction, such as homozygous sickle cell disease, thalassemia major and coeliac syndrome.
Morbid obesity:
- adults with a Body Mass Index ≥40 kg/m².
Severe mental illness:
- individuals with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, or any mental illness that causes severe functional impairment.
Adult carers:
- those who are in receipt of a carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if the carer falls ill.

Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immunisation-against-infectious-disease-the-green-book

Public Health England explainer videos

Public Health England have made a series of explainer videos relating to Covid vaccination frequently asked questions.
The video topics include: