indeed it is promising that testing is seeing a few reasonable options starting to materialize!

from https://www.theguardian.com/politics...s-play-it-safeHowever, prices of PCR tests are coming down, with Shapps, the transport secretary, telling the House of Commons on Thursday that one new entrant will be offering them for £45.

The Department for Transport on Friday said it did not endorse any private test provider but to its knowledge Eurofins currently had the cheapest standard PCR test at £44.90.

I've booked a trip to Scotland for two family members. It's for mid-June. Both are seniors, FR passports, fully vaccinated by that time (their second jab of Biontech will be in early May).

The flights I booked for them are fully flexible so that's fine. However, for accomodation I've booked some airbnb's which become non-flex 30 days prior to departure.

What do you think are the chances they'll be allowed to enter?

They will be allowed to enter - the question is what restrictions they will be subject to on entry (ranging from managed isolation in a hotel, with security, through self-isolation, down to nothing). I imagine that depends on where they are travelling from, and what the situation there is at the time.

It's nearly 10 weeks since I had my first Pfizer jab. I've not had notification of my second as yet. I'll give it another week and then try contacting my GP.

Alternatively, turn up at the centre you had your first on a day you know they are doing Pfizer. Chances are they will offer you a vaccine. Late in the day (so they know they have had some no shows, but not so late that they have started to phone any reserve list they may be operating) would be my best guess for success.

The bulk of Scottish first doses are now Pfizer this week rather than AZ. Is this the same elsewhere?

Daily data:

Cases 1,907 (2,061 last Saturday)
Deaths 7 (32)
Patients admitted 160 (132 on the 20th)
Patients in hospital 1,451 (1,781 on the 22nd)
Patients on ventilator 185 (243 on the 23nd)
People vaccinated up to and including 30 April 2021:
First dose: 34,346,273
Second dose: 14,940,984

The rolling seven day daily average is now down 10.9% on the previous week. It is good to see single digit deaths on a day where the figures are not normally low.

No! Like gold dust round here (Hertfordshire). All the mass vac centres are AZ only, except for one that has Moderna as well as AZ. Pharmacies are AZ only. GP led clinics are Pfizer and AZ, but the Pfizer is 90% second doses with the remainder going to those pregnant or who have had previous clotting problems.

And in my GP led centre, which is actually bigger than some mass vac centres, I have done 8 days on now, and only one day of that was Pfizer, 7 days AZ including today. Next week we are 2 days Pfizer, 1 day Astra, and one session TBC.

Anecdotally, Letchworth and Royston, as well as the Lister, are currently doing Pfizer. Moderna seems to be more over Northants way at the moment.

Does anyone know the main places in London doing Pfizer at the moment?

Does anyone have any experience with alcohol after receiving the first vaccine dose? Got my first shot of Pfizer/BioNTech on Friday (super seamless and easy experience at the vaccine centre, hats off to our wonderful NHS in Scotland) and was hoping for a wee trip to the beer garden tomorrow and on bank holiday Monday. I wouldn't want to do anything that might hamper my immune response.

This might be a stupid question if the obvious answer is already out there so sorry in advance! Maybe you know more corporate-wage-slave ?

There is no mention of a need to avoid a wee dram on the Pfizer patient information leaflet

https://www.gov.uk/government/public...vid-19-vaccine

Many thanks for the very valid question. Funnily enough I had two people ask me that yesterday, and I can't remember anyone else asking me recently. One was doing some sort of gin tasting event by Zoom (must be an FTer) and the other had her birthday the next day. So this (written as someone who is one of the last remnants of the Temperance movement) is what I would say, and it makes no difference which vaccine is involved:

- generally alcohol should be consumed in moderation, it isn't something good for your health despite what some people think, and alcohol causes any amount of human misery.
- also generally, though alcohol has a slight negative impact on immune responses, mainly slowing it down, that is quite weak, and the immune response process takes weeks or even months. So a few evenings of moderate drinking are unlikely to make a measureable difference. Equally the things that some people advocate for improving immune responses (arm exercises, probiotic yoghurts) are in with witchcraft in terms of scientific validity.
- for the vaccines the extensive trials have thrown zero problem or issue with alcohol. WIth so many people involved there is no question that if alcohol did cause a problem it would have come up, and it hasn't. Other things did come up (e.g. allergic reactions) which are far rarer than alcohol usage.
- on the other hand vaccines often have side effects similar to having a hangover, so it's questionable whether anyone would want a double hangover (sounds terrible!). Side effects can show for up to a week but 2 or 3 days are more typical.
- for AZ only: if you have a headache after drinking, don't dismiss this out of hand, this is the main thrombosis warning signal, though a very, very rare one. If the headache gets worse after lying down and isn't shifted with your preferred painkiller, than seek immediate medical help, going to A&E / ER if necessary. But I stress the rarity value of this. I've been jabbing thousands of Geordies since January, and I would have to be jabbing for 37 years to get a single, and potentially treatable case, on average.
- on my first day as a Covid vaccinator back in January, one of my early patients, around 10 am, was a well known down-and-out in Newcastle. He rolled up drunk as a skunk. I jabbed him, even if the consent issue is a bit fuzzy, indeed it was fantastic to see him - despite all his problems he was putting his health and the health of his community first by coming forward for his jab. I then jabbed him again 2 months later (still very drunk). I actually hold him up as someone who cares.

So alcohol is fine, personally I think it's best not to have anything on the day of vaccination (see double hangover issue) but frankly there is no evidence that it causes any problem. And consumption in moderation is a good idea anyway.

Are there any trials involving the jab and alcohol I could participate in? I am willing to travel. :)