UK healthcare professionals do not know when to get COVID-19 vaccine

• The British government says it will vaccinate all health and social care workers by 15 February.
• It’s getting closer, and many workers still do not know when they’ll get the chance.
• Five front-line workers spoke to Insider about being let down.
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Healthcare workers in the UK are becoming increasingly frustrated because they do not know when they will get their first chance at a COVID-19 vaccine.

This includes the test center workers and student doctors who do not know where they fall on the priority list, and fear that they may fall completely through the cracks.

The UK government has said its ‘top priority’ is to ensure that the 15 million people in the highest risk categories have access to their first dose by 15 February.

In addition to people who are vulnerable due to their age and health, this group also includes domestic workers, health care and social care workers, with residents of care homes and the staff working with them having the highest priority.

It follows the guidance of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI), an independent medical body, which has advised the government to protect health and social care staff, along with the prevention of COVID-19 deaths. The government is working to release the vaccine quickly and has put in place a risky and untested strategy to administer as many first doses as possible by delaying when people get their second chance.

But frontline workers, including some who work for the NHS, told Insider that they have not yet been contacted about their first dose and that they should treat patients even though they are not protected themselves.

In one case, student doctors placed in hospitals, including some in COVID-19 wards, were told to cancel their vaccinations so staff could get their shots first.

This comes as increasing numbers of healthcare professionals test positive for COVID-19.

Earlier this month, the British Medical Association (BMA) reported that more than 46,000 hospital staff were ill with COVID-19, according to The Guardian. And at some hospitals, more than one in seven people is sick from work, said Dr. Tom Dolphin, a drug consultant in London, told Kate Duffy of Insider.

Guy Smallman / Getty Images

This means that healthcare professionals may have to treat more patients than usual or work longer hours. A survey by the BMA showed that two-thirds of respondents regularly had to work overtime during the pandemic, and nearly half said their work caused or exacerbated emotional distress, depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions.

The BMA calls on the government to ensure that all frontline staff have the opportunity as soon as possible, both for their own protection and to alleviate the greater burden on NHS staff. To keep services going, all health workers must be vaccinated by the end of January, Dolphin added.

But people fall through the cracks. According to a study by the GMB Union, according to The Independent, on 11 January 43% of London ambulance and hospital workers, including nurses, administrative staff and cleaners, were not offered a COVID-19 vaccine.

The NHS did not respond to Insider’s request for comment. The Department of Health and Social Care referred Insider to the NHS when asked to comment.

A junior doctor, a doctor in hospital placement, a test center assistant, a dental administrator and a home caregiver spoke to Insider about their experiences.

The five healthcare professionals spoke to Insider about the condition of confidentiality, and their names were changed for this article.

The junior doctor

“I and many other doctors feel extremely frustrated about the mismatch between the government’s announcements and the reality of what’s actually going on in our hospitals,” Rosie, a junior doctor in a major hospital trust in Leeds, told Insider. She works in emergency rooms to look after dozens of patients every week.

There is a real difference between the government’s introduction of the vaccine to NHS staff, she added.

“I have colleagues who work in another area of ​​the country, who have already had two doses of the vaccine if there are older colleagues I work with, who have not.”

However, she does not blame the hospital trust for which she works.

“Despite the government’s guidance on implementing the vaccine and prioritizing groups, there is no strategy to ensure that it is rolled out evenly,” she said.

Read more: The UK hospital system is on the verge of collapse, forcing excessive staff to postpone cancer treatments, stretch oxygen supplies and run the risk of catching COVID-19.

‘It feels like the government has left the hospital trust to get the staff and resources together to hand out the vaccine on their own – which is no small feat, given the very large number of NHS staff working on the front line . ‘

As a result, trusts are offering vaccinations to their staff at different prices, which are affected by issues related to the supply, storage and administration of the vaccine, Rosie said.

“I think most hospitals are doing the best they can with regards managing the ever-changing COVID-19 environment,” she said. “The frustration for me lies in the lack of government support.”

The student doctor

Megan, a doctor in placements, told Insider she’s not sure where she fits on the government’s priority list. She works most of the week full time and alternates between three different hospitals and is in a different ward almost every day. These include medical and surgical wards, theaters, intensive care units and clinics.

“It’s like we’re staff, but not staff and sometimes forgotten,” Megan said. She is not an NHS worker because she has no staff number and no check, which means she does not have the same priority as them, but she works in NHS hospitals with NHS doctors.

“I feel that as medical students we are often overlooked because we are not classified as full staff, but stand in front of the patients full time and move around a lot,” she told Insider.

Daniel Leaf-Olivas / AFP via Getty Images

One of Megan’s friends, who is also being treated as a student as a doctor, was to be vaccinated this week, but turned down her appointment because she was not a staff member. This despite receiving an email inviting her to get the chance.

In an email viewed by Insider, Megan’s girlfriend has since been told that staff in front of student doctors need to be vaccinated, and if they have an appointment, they have to cancel – including the student doctors working on COVID-19 departments .

The Test Center Assistant

Connor, meanwhile, works as a general assistant at a large COVID-19 testing center in the north of England. The role involves instructing people to use and process a test, as well as to clean the site from time to time. He is not employed by the NHS, and rather works for a private agency to which the British government has outsourced contracts.

“We have not heard anything about the vaccine and I do not think we will get it,” Connor told Insider, adding that he does not think he is classified in one of the highest priority groups.

Read more: UK hospitals move COVID-19 patients to hotel amid shortage of beds

“I think it’s because we’re all on zero-hour contracts and therefore not considered a priority, despite some people working more than 30 hours a week. It feels like we just do not care.”

“Everyone who works there endangers themselves every time they enter, and handles objects that we know are contaminated with COVID-19. It’s discouraging and causes anger how we were overlooked.”

The dental administrator

Lily is a receptionist and administrator at an NHS dental practice. In addition to doing administrative work such as scheduling and filing, Lily is also responsible for investigating COVID-19 symptoms and for taking temperature.

Lily’s workplace only indicated last week that its staff would be given preference for vaccination, after saying earlier that dentists and support staff do not count as health workers.

“We have been informed that we will contact our practice on vaccinating, but there is no plan or timeline for that yet,” she told Insider.

Read more: A quarter of the vaccines in New York go to people who do not actually live there. Some do not even work in the city.

Despite this lack of clarity, the government is insisting on doing dental practices to visit as many patients as possible at the moment – also for non-urgent and routine treatments, Lily told Insider.

“It’s really frustrating to be told by the same people dragging their feet around us to be vaccinated to do it all,” she said.

The home caregiver

Paige, meanwhile, is a home care business owner. Her job involves visiting elderly clients at home to care for them, including personal care and dementia.

Paige said her company had contacted the relevant authorities a number of times about accessing the vaccine, but had not yet been told when staff managed to shoot.

Read more: London Mayor Sadiq Khan has declared a “major incident” as hospitals in the city are flooded with COVID-19 patients

“Even some of my clients have not heard when they will get the vaccine,” she said. Some of them spent Christmas alone with only visits from their caregivers to keep them company.

“Personally, I think the government has let a lot of people down,” she told Insider. “It’s an embarrassment and to tell how bad the whole pandemic in this country has gone with all the decisions and all the pockets we have seen, from personal protective equipment to free school meals.”