ExpatExp

Well done. I've been checking every day and still nothing available in London. Would be interesting to know if overseas vaccinations can be added to NHS records on a walk-in basis anywhere.

plunet

My understanding is that it is still important. If you can't assert data about dose 1 (manufacturer, date delivered) then it can cause doubt to someone who might care about that information.... Eg. Is it the same manufacturer as dose 2, how many weeks between dose 1 and dose 2. The absence of any dose 1 information could impact you if you are unable to assert it and deny you entry to something or somewhere you want to go. The importance will probably reduce but until there is consensus it would be useful to ensure that you have some info about all vaccine doses.

Dan1113

Then scotgov has made it trickier since the paper cert has gotten rid of dose 1 for people who have had 3 doses.

louie-m

I'm guessing not, simply because the staff we spoke to when getting the jabs yesterday were very helpful, and we showed them copies of our vaccination certificates so they could be sure we were eligible for a booster. I think they would have sorted the record if they could, not least because doing the booster without the first two jabs being recorded resulted in them adding a fair amount of info in the notes sections of their screens anyway. Maybe they were not trained to do it?

corporate-wage-slave

We have been firmly told not to enter in records other than for the centre or service offering the vaccine. So yes, entering a back-dated record is something that is physically possible, procedurally it would need to relate to vaccines administered at that site, or at a site organised by the same chemist / PCN / hub / Federation etc. We have also been told that if someone can demonstrate that they are due for a booster they should get it, since that is the priority, and bringing paperwork from overseas will help us to ensure you get the right vaccine. It's amazing how people just can't remember what vaccine they got, or even the number of vaccines they've had, hence we like to see some evidence to make sure that (e.g.) we don't give someone 4 doses by mistake. The booster record would go into Pinnacle, so some people get Boosters without primary doses recorded.

The exceptions to this are those centres designated for entry of overseas records - they have leeway to enter non local records.

louie-m

Thanks c-w-s. Do you know if there is a publicly available list of those centres? It's frustrating not knowing if you are having to make an inconvenient journey to one of these centres which is unavoidable because that is the nearest one or whether that is simply the nearest one with availability and you could go to a nearer one if you knew where it was and were prepared to wait.

corporate-wage-slave

Every time you log in, you should see all the sites with an appointment available in the next 5 days, with no same day appointments showing, so it would be at least for tomorrow. The advice I've had is that this isn't a walk-in service, and so you do need to book. However we've also been told to focus 101% on Booster and First doses, so just for the next few weeks overseas jabs isn't going to be anyone's priority. The places I know of are Lincoln, Donacaster, Cambridge, Stevenage, Bloomsbury, Bristol - but there will be others that aren't doing any overseas work this week so I can't see them on the system. Short answer: keep logging in, say 3 times a day, since it's a live database underneath the login.

fc0175

In keeping with this theme, I have just had my next week booking to update my records cancelled I can see the sense of it and am obviously fully on board with the need to prioritise jabs over paperwork, but still can't help but feel a bit miffed... It is somewhat frustrating that the government didn't have the appetite to try and address this obvious administrative need at any time over the past 6 months when the system had more capacity.

Based on my checks over the past week, I can add the following to the list: London (Bidborough House), Reading, Peterborough and Sheffield. None showing on the system now I'm trying to rebook (my cancelled one was London, as a datapoint).

For completeness I add that nothing has come of this yet. I suspect that the person I spoke to was being over-enthusiastic, and the best I can hope for is getting a call back from the vaccine resolution team in 4-6 weeks.

louie-m

Ditto for the cancellation, ditto for understanding why and ditto for the being miffed.

However, I have just checked and Bidborough House, Reading, Nottingham and Sunderland appear to have availability right now. I say appear as when you try and book Bidborough House (the only appointment which is supposedly available is on Sunday 19th at 3.15pm), you get a message saying "this appointment date or time is no longer available".

ExpatExp

Yes, same here. Haven't been able to get an appointment in London despite trying multiple times every day since the announcement that it was possible to add foreign vaccine records. Will give up for now and try again in the new year.

louie-m

Well, that's a surprise, a nice Christmas present! Having tried many times to book new appointments online since our original appointments were cancelled, without success, we've both just received (unsolicited) phone calls from the NHS. They acknowledged they had cancelled our appointments and said they could now update our records over the phone, which they did. Well done and thank you, NHS.

Anyone else in that situation might want to keep their overseas vaccines records handy, including the time (of day) of your appointments, as well as the usual country, brand, date and batch numbers of your vaccines.

fc0175

I too was very surprised and happy to receive a call this afternoon! I was told to check my app in 5 days by which time it should all be sorted. Brilliant if so, fingers crossed!

Unfortunately they don't have a contact number we can reach them on so all I can recommend is that anyone else in the same boat keeps their phone on loud... note my call wasn't from the same number as the vaccine resolution team (ending 119) so don't screen calls on that basis!

squawk

Thanks for the updates fc0175 and louie-m - this is good to know. I’m in the slightly unusual position of having had vaccines split between countries (UK, booster abroad). Were either of you in this position, or did you have all of yours done entirely outside the UK?

I would like my NHS record updated for completeness - and also to stop both the central vaccine service and my local GP from wasting resources by inviting me for a booster! But I don’t want to tie up more resources by getting in contact when I know they are incredibly busy.

It would be amazing if there was a service whereby one could submit the EU-standard QR code for the third jab electronically to the resolution service - as this presumably has all the relevant information - and let them deal with it in their own time.

louie-m

We had our first and second jabs in Australia and the booster (last week) in the UK, so yes we are in a different position to you. Good luck anyway!

fc0175

I am the same way round as louie-m; 2 'primary' doses abroad and a booster here in the UK. So slightly different to you, but no reason to believe the process wouldn't work for you too.

I'm pleased to confirm that following the call I received yesterday I how have a QR code for both my US jabs in my NHS app! Lots of thanks owed to the overseas resolution team who have sorted this for me. And definitely a sign it's worth keeping trying to book an appointment for this (and not to worry if the appointment is subsequently cancelled, given it seems in some cases they are just using the booking process to collect your contact details).