Covid Vaccine Information for Personal Assistants

[lankou]

I have just been emailed this from the local Disability Information Group.  It may be of use to some here:-

Covid Vaccine Information for Personal Assistants 
As you may know, there has been a recent approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine by regulators and confirmation that this will be used to provide vaccinations to Health and Social care staff working in the local community. This includes any Personal Assistants supporting a Direct Payment recipient. 
Your Personal Assistant is now able to book a vaccination and we encourage you to share the details below with your Personal Assistant. 
The booking link is for your Personal Assistant (s) only, they will need to book the appointments themselves. Please do not forward or share the booking link and do not book appointments on behalf of anyone else. 
Vaccine booking Information for your Personal Assistant 
The vaccination programme is being rolled out nationally by the NHS and in Cornwall and Isles of Scilly by Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust in priority order as identified by central Government. As a Personal Assistant you are within the priority group of Health and Social Care staff to receive the vaccine. 
Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust opened the first vaccination clinics at the beginning of December and continues to offer a daily programme of 10 minute appointment slots available from 8am-8pm. The vaccination is taken in 2 doses. When booking a first vaccination appointment, the second must also be booked for approximately 21 days later.   
You can book your appointment through the online booking system (you must use Google Chrome to do this).   
At present, the numbers of vaccinations available are limited per day, Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust are adding new slots all the time. If there is no availability when you try to book, please try again a few days later using the same link.   
Additional information regarding booking a Vaccine Appointment  - Personal Assistants ONLY

[ditchdwellers]

Thank you for posting this Iankou. I hadn't heard about this and I'm going to look for further info to pass onto my PA. I'm sure he'll be interested.


I'm really grateful to you for keeping us updated on these issues.

[Sunshine Meadows]

This includes any Personal Assistants supporting a Direct Payment recipient. 

That is good to know and was not something I had considered  

[Fiz]

My cousin is an unpaid carer for her 100yo MIL and she received a phone call from the NHS asking her who she cares for. When she explained they told her that she is not in the carers priority group for the vaccine as it depends who you care for. That to me is shocking.

[Sunshine Meadows]

Fiz,

That does sound odd to me, is you cousin's MIL super fit for a 100 year old?

[Fiz]

Nope! Totally incapacitated following several CVA's (strokes).

My cousin had a total mastectomy the day theatres reopened after lockdown one as day surgery going home with a drain in situ and had to phone the hospital with her obs every two hours overnight. Their attempts to get some help from Adult Services with the MIL after her surgery failed completely! Absolutely disgraceful how my cousin has been treated. We don't care enough about our unpaid carers.

[ditchdwellers]

The government  certainly don't care enough about unpaid carers. Your family's experiences have been horrendous. Is there anyone who has enough energy who could complain to the MP about this? These sorts of things are what they need to hear. Could someone else advocate for them if needed? 

I'm so sorry you're all going through these things so unsupported