Holiday-hungry people trying to pick the quicker vaccine fix

Currently two different vaccines are available in the island – Pfizer and AstraZeneca – and it is hoped that a third vaccine, made by Moderna, will start being used soon.

In some countries there has been hesitancy over having the AZ vaccine, due to the small chance of developing rare blood disorders.

But Guernsey people have been requesting the Pfizer vaccine for a different reason.

A Health & Social Care spokeswoman said the Vaccination Contact Centre call handlers are receiving an increasing number of calls from individuals requesting specific Covid-19 vaccines.

‘In particular, callers are asking for the Pfizer vaccine – the gap between doses is six weeks as opposed to 10 weeks for the AstraZeneca vaccine – citing a desire to go on holiday as soon as possible.’

Unless there is a clinical reason why someone cannot receive a specific vaccine, they cannot choose which vaccine they will receive at their scheduled appointment.

If someone does not want to receive the vaccine offered, the VCC will note their details on the system.

This will mean that they can access the vaccination programme at another time in the future if they change their mind.

More than 42,000 doses of vaccine have been given so far, with 44% of islanders over 16 having received one dose. Everyone over 50 should now have received their first dose of vaccine.

Last Friday’s press conference was cancelled due to the death of Prince Philip. The next press conference is due to be held today at 1pm.