louie-m

It seems not. Apparently my Aussie AZ jabs aren't good enough to avoid home quarantine if coming from an amber country. If that doesn't change I am wondering if it might just be easier to get more jabs from the NHS. This might be off topic, but are there any health reasons for not doing so (or at least ones sufficiently serious to outweigh the inconvenience of pointless home quarantine)?

plunet

I do wonder about this point. If you were able to get your foreign jabs correctly registered in the NHS immunisation system, so they are shown in the NHS App, etc, although the location the jab was delivered is shown in the record I query if someone arriving at the border having uploaded an NHS App screenshot to the airline before arrival would be queried if there were British or foreign jabs.

The key thing here is getting your Aussie jabs correctly recorded, which you have a right to do - it your data but it will depend upon the capability of your GP surgery, and then getting some insight as to how the border operation actually works and if Aussie jabs in the NHS App would be picked up as not being British jabs...

corporate-wage-slave

The recent announcement is being described as "phase 1", so directed at (mainly) UK residents who have had the vaccine via the NHS and therefore can easily prove their vaccine status. Other phases will follow, probably starting with the EU since they too have a very similar database-led process. Others will follow as confidence in mass vaccination processes increase. Having a previous course of Covid vaccines is a contraindication if the lead clinician found out about it, though there are some specific rules depending on exact circumstances. So someone having 1 or 2 Sputnik vaccines is supposed to have a single UK vaccine. We know that mixing vaccines will tend to give you the worst of all worlds with side effects, having two vaccines of the same sort usually only gives one noteworthy side effect event, mixing will typically give two lots of bad side effects. But apart from the impact of side effects, having extra vaccines isn't going to harm you, not least the medical trials have played around with overdosing, and a few people in the early days got undiluted Pfizer (so 6 times the usual dose) and they were all ok with strong immune responses, after the mother of all hangovers. So I can't see any health impacts, and in the case of AZ then there is plenty of stock. But there is an ethical issue of consuming unnecessary vaccines in a world short of them, just to tick a box. That box tick may well be short in duration.

OK, so to unpick that a bit:
- There is now something called a Covid Pass. Only NHS administered vaccines will give an NHS Covid Pass. Other countries, notably the EU, are doing similar things.
- To get an NHS Covid Pass you need both vaccines administered in the NHS, using NHS vaccines, under NHS protocols, plus two weeks from dose2.
- This is demonstrated via the NHS App or a letter from 119. This source data is NIMS, which I've mentioned before.
- Overseas vaccines are not supposed to end up on NIMS. Some surgeries will add them, informally, particularly if dose1 was administered in the UK and dose2 was adminstered somewhere sensible such as Germany, using the same vaccine type. Vice versa too. However this isn't supposed to happen and you cannot demand a surgery does this.
- On the other hand you can get a "local coded record" added to your NHS records, showing overseas vaccine details, and also visible in the NHS App. It won't generate a Covid Pass / QR code but it will be visible.
- We havien't seen the Statutory Instrument in this area yet, so past experience says it's best to wait to see the exact text, to see what Amber means.
- One possible outcome is that the SI will say "NHS Covid pass only", at least to begin with. My further speculation is that airlines at check-in will be patrolling this detail. It is possible that some check-in agents will see a local record on the NHS app and regard that as good enough. But that may, or may not, align with the precise text of the SI. Until the SI comes out next week, it is speculation.
- The Green Box 14a, which governs vaccinations in England, gives some guidance that suggests that those who received overseas vaccines of a sort not recognised in the UK (e.g. Sinopharm) should get on the list for the Autumn booster, presumably in the second phase after those over 70 (etc) have had their booster.

seattle29

Can you confirm whether it's definitely 2 weeks from dose 2? Does the website not allow you to generate a pass as soon as the 2nd vaccine dose is added to the database (within 24-48 hours of having it?)

corporate-wage-slave

It does, but the wording changes slightly after 2 weeks. And of course airlines will be looking at the date of dose2 in the check-in process. The NHS Letter version only goes out after dose2 + 2 weeks.

seattle29

Gibraltar doesn't seem to specify a wait of 2 weeks, they define "A person is deemed to be fully vaccinated when they have received two doses in a 2-dose series COVID-19 vaccine (such as Pfizer or Astrazeneca vaccines)"

So I'm hoping a NHS Covid Pass generated less than 2 weeks after the 2nd dose would be sufficient to fly there without a pre-departure test?

corporate-wage-slave

OK, that's a different question. What that depends on is the exact wording of the revised Statutory Instrument due next week (in terms of the return to the UK and whether NHS Digital makes further changes) and for going to Gibraltar we know they tend to create rules very quickly according to local circumstances. In arriving at GIB if you are deemed to need a test they will just do one for you on arrival, so it shouldn't be a big deal.

:D!

The app QR code thing doesn't show my full name. Would the paper certificate show it?

I'm asking because of this comment, which is in relation to Hong Kong but may be an issue in some other countries too

corporate-wage-slave

The NHS letter shows your name as recorded for NHS purposes. Generally we're not interesting in middle names, so there is a fair chance that your NHS records don't have that recorded. I know my middle names are not on the NHS record and so can't show on the App or Letter. Sometimes I do see it on some patients' records.

Having said that, I'm somewhat wary of anecdotes that happen to one person at early stages of the game. Plus like FT there is usually stuff that doesn't get mentioned. If it really matters, which I doubt, then you can go to your surgery, get your middle name entered into the system and I imagine that the App and Letter would be updated accordingly since your NHS number is the key for the underlying data, not your name.

flyslow

NHS has my name wrong, one letter missing from my surname, I guess my first GP in UK didn't bother to proof read when registering me. I made few requests to correct that but to no avail, also pointed it out when registering with my current GP and it was ignored.
Would that become an issue? Should I pester my GP daily about this or would it actually be easier to change my name by deed to match NHS version?

corporate-wage-slave

They probably don't know how to do it. They need to do the following (this is the advice GPs would see):
To request a change to the name information for a patient registered at your practice, please submit the amendment via the GP Link, and confirm in the free text that you have seen documentation with the correct name. If this confirmation isn’t provided in the free text, then the amendment will be rejected.
So what you need to do is supply some document that confirms the correct spelling, and get the GP or reception to use GP Link on PCSE (Primary Care Support England) to give the information as required.

flyslow

Thank you, will try to do that. Though I did supply my passport and address proof with my correct name when registering. I guess I have to read out your instructions to them.

ExpatExp

Interesting. Exact same thing with me.

Many thanks -- will do exactly this!

kingstontoon

I was wondering this too, though from the perspective of a British Citizen living in London who has had two doses of AZ, with the first being from the dreaded (from a travel perspective!) batch manufactured in India. While I'm just back from a trip to Poland, Spain and Gibraltar and had no trouble, I have upcoming trips to EU countries which don't recognise this batch and really don't want to take the risk again (or pay for tests). So is it possible to get a third AZ with a bit of effort and is it likely to be safe to do so (I had no side effects from the first two). It has now been 6 weeks since my second jab. Or is there a general view this mess will be sorted out soon? I'm also hoping to go to the US as soon as it reopens and worry exactly the same thing will happen there...

corporate-wage-slave

The Telegraph today has a story of a couple barred from Malta since TUI checked the batch numbers and denied travel after checking Malta's guidance. I think Malta has managed to acquire a reputation for over-precise regulation in this field, somewhat at odds to their usual reputation in terms of bureaucracy. I've no doubt that both High Commissions are on the case already. My feeling is that this will be ironed out fairly quickly, and we know other European countries have said they are treating all AZ batches done in the UK as being OK. You won't get a third jab in the UK unless you can convince a clinician that you have a clinical need for a third jab. And that may be tricky. I guess the argument would be that another country does not recognise these batches as valid vaccinations, therefore you are clinically not double vaccinated, however that will fall away if Malta relents ont his issue as I would expect will happen in the next few days.

There are circumstances where some people have had three doses, it's not an unsafe thing to do and the protocols do give some indications when this can happen, e.g. if the second dose was mistakenly given before 4 weeks from the first.