Scotland needs to ‘run faster’ with vaccines says Anas Sarwar
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The Covid vaccine rollout in the UK has been among the most successful in the world thanks to the number of people willing to be jabbed in Britain. As of July 4, 50.6 percent of the population has had both doses of the vaccine, while 68 percent has had at least one dose. The rollout was recently extended to all over-18s in the UK as the priority groups had been vaccinated throughout the earlier months of the year.
Can you reschedule your vaccine appointment?
Yes, you are able to reschedule your vaccine appointment in case you can’t make it on the day for whatever reason.
While this option was recently only open to people needing to postpone later in the future, it’s now also open to people who want to move their jab appointment forward.
The Government announced that the first and second dose waiting time will be cut down from 12 weeks to eight for those aged under 40.
Speaking during a Downing Street press briefing, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the move aims to speed up the rollout as he announced Freedom Day will go ahead as planned on July 19.
Mr Johnson said it is hoped all over-18s will have had both doses of the jab by the time September comes around – just before the winter flu period.
This is only able to go ahead because of the vaccination programme’s huge success in Britain.
However, despite the successful track record, scientists and experts are warning Mr Johnson against reopening as the highest number of cases since January’s peak was recorded last Wednesday to surpass 26,000.
There were 27,334 new cases recorded on Monday, while a further nine deaths were also reported, bringing the overall death toll to 128,231.
How to reschedule a vaccine appointment
If you need to or would like to move your vaccine appointment forward, then you absolutely can.
However, you must ensure that it’s not moved to earlier than eight weeks after your first dose as this likely defeats the purpose of the vaccine.
If you’re already booked in for a slot, then you can start rescheduling by visiting the NHS vaccine portal. Book or manage your coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination
You’ll be asked to provide your NHS number, but don’t worry if you don’t know it as you have the option to just add your first and second name instead.
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After this, you will be prompted to enter your gender in order to match the medical records your GP has on file for you.
Following this step, it’s time to enter your date of birth to fully verify your identity.
Once the website has all the relevant information, you’ll be able to pick and choose where and when you’d like to have your second vaccine spot.
If you want to cancel your slot, for example if you’ve been advised against having another jab for medical reasons, then you can do so through the same system.
Is it safe to have a second jab after eight weeks?
As is understood, eight weeks is the earliest you should have your second jab after the first one.
One Government scientific advisor said four weeks is far too soon as numerous people shared tips online of some walk-in hubs giving second doses after just a month.
Professor Anthony Harnden on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and who advises the Government on vaccination, said: “The data suggests very strongly that the longer you leave the second dose, the better longer-term protection you will have.
“There is a sort of sweet spot from about eight weeks onwards, and we wouldn’t advise anybody to really have the second dose before then.”
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