Probably worth mentioning the real reasons that things like this have been occurring.....
The Pfizer vaccine is, for reasons best known to Pfizer, tricky to store and handle. It comes as deep frozen (-8-ºC) batches of 195 ampoules. Each ampoule has to be manually diluted to precise specifications and officially gives 5 doses. For some reason these "must" be distributed as complete batches so vaccination centres get 975 doses at a time to deal with - in a short space of time as the vaccine life is very short once defrosted (from -80ºC). They don't always get very much notice of delivery dates either.
The logistics of assembling 975 people to inject over a 3 day window (mainly over 80 or otherwise vulnerable at this point), at short notice is quite challenging.
You get a few that don't show (though gratifyingly few in this neck of the woods). What has also become apparent though is that you can easily get 6 doses from each ampoule, sometimes 7. + 20%. Great news..... except, who are you going to give it to? You called 975 people. You can't pop it back in the fridge for another day..... and it's getting late (6, 7 in the evening and you've been at it all day), but you WILL NOT waste good vaccine......
.....So you get on the phone and call in the people you can think of who you know can just come in. Older surgery staff, carers at local nursing homes, supermarket staff from across the road. Still got vaccine left over? Call the rest of the surgery staff, surgery staff relatives.... anyone. Don't waste it!
If these people whinging think it would be better put in the bin..... to hell with them!
As experience grows and real world numbers are better understood, I reckon the targeting for the extra doses will become more accurate. Not sure whether the Astra Zeneca has vaccine has similar unknowns to iron out, but it is certainly less demanding to store and handle, so some of the pressure is removed. Meanwhile, a dose administered has got to be better than a dose wasted, no matter whose arm it goes in.
Nick
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