Hi James - my 3rd one too was marked as a booster - but was told when having my 4th it was because the system could only log it as a booster and was assured it was a 3rd primary- can only hope they are right
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I wish I could be positive but I went to my GP surgery to book my 4th vaccine to be told that today (Tuesday) was the last day they were doing boosters. No more are planned yet the level of boosters in Ryedale is just 73.4% so I now have to go further afield and hope I can find a walk-in facility. Just not good enough.
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Hi @Venus just in case it’s helpful in finding another centre, the below is from our webpage on booking vaccines -
Not all centres can offer fourth doses. Use the online search to check for centres that say ‘3rd dose for people with a weakened immune system’ as they should be able to provide fourth doses.
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Tried the NHS website and still hit the brick wall. The only walk-in centre for me would be Askham Bar, York but still no option to book an appointment - life has to remain in limbo.
Even a closer medical centre refuses to allow someone from a different area to get their booster even if that means throwing doses in the bin.
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Oh @Venus it must be so frustrating and wearing for you, brick walls and boundaries are so hard.
Look after yourself.
Oh how frustrating for you @Venus! Please do give us a call on 0808 2080 888 if you might find it helpful to talk this through?
If you’re worried about the walk-in aspect of it and the potential Covid risk, you could try and call the centre to explain your situation and ask what measures are in place to help protect immunosuppressed people in the walk-in centre.
Did you manage to speak to your GP about potential next steps when you were at the surgery? Or have you managed to speak to a member of your hospital team to see if they can support you with this at all?
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I phoned my GP and said that I had not been called for my fourth dose, which was now overdue, they said they would pass the message on. After another ten days and hearing nothing I was getting quite anxious waiting. My local hospital is running vaccines with the support of GPS in the town and organisation has been excellent. I went down to speak to someone in the vaccination centre to discover that it is now only open on a few half days so after waiting a few days went down again. They were really helpful. I filled in the paperwork and was escorted to the front of the queue and passed to the senior doctor who interviewed me, very fully, and then jabbed me. She was fully aware that lines of communication with the immunosuppressed has not been ideal and reassured me that I was doing the right thing by presenting myself there.
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My doctor stopped arranging vaccinations after the second jab.
Walk in centres are open to everyone,
119 tend to only give you options in your clinical commissioning group area,
I am in Cornwall, and 119 only offer me Wadebridge or Truro… but then can’t even book me in, as the system has not updated enough for it to work for us.
My only option is a walk in centre
After a bit of a hiccup yesterday, where the walk in was closed in Liskeard,
I went across the toll bridge to Devon ccg again, to the Football ground, as a walk in, and they do not worry where you are from,
They also have separate procedures for people who are immune suppressed, so you don’t have to wait with everyone else, you are chaperoned to the front of the queue, by a back way in.
It did take me over 2 hours his morning, but that’s because of the drive there and back, and waiting the 15 mins in the car.
However, I think this is the reality for us now, unless we live in a big urban centre, with all facilities on our doorsteps.
for peace of mind on safety, the walk in centre I used was really up to speed, you say you are immune suppressed, to the first Marshall you see, and all the things start to be put in place, to have you escorted with no waiting - I would think they are all trained the same way - it was the same when I went there for my 3rd jab in October.
I would look online for walk in centres, see which one offer the jab you need, and give it a go.
Make sure you take your paperwork, that was the most difficult for me, but the actual walk in centre, and safety procedures were a dream
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Hi Heather, can you tell me what paperwork you took please. So far my three jabs have just been arranged via text messages from my GP ?
I’m not due fourth until next week, then I will start chasing them up. Thanks
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I had a letter from my GP, which was actually wrong, it had the wrong condition, and the wrong jab, so I also took my medication, that has my name, and date issued on it, the website says this for the third dose, but it’s the same for the 4th, I also took my cards, as my second card had 3rd dose, not booster, on it, but they didn’t check that
…
If you are attending for a 3rd dose for people with a weakened immune system you need to bring the letter from your GP or hospital specialist inviting you for a 3rd dose. Alternatively you can bring either:
- a hospital letter that describes the condition or treatment that caused you to have a weakened immune system
- a prescription or a medicine box with your name and the date showing when the medicine was prescribed
You will not be able to get a 3rd dose at a walk-in site without one of these.
…
edited to add…
My letter was clearly from my GP, and said Cornwall, which is a different ccg to Plymouth, where I went,
they did say - oh you’ve come over from Cornwall, but there was never a hint that it was a problem
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Thanks, I’ll give it a try next week when my time comes up.
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Hi @Beejay please let us know how you get on next week.
Personally I would not chase before you are after the 3mths from your 3rd vaccine i.e. 20 Oct then wait till after 20 Jan otherwise that can be a stumbling block.
Good luck and perhaps be politely assertive
Absolutely agree with @Erica it has made a huge difference in my search for a fourth vaccination to be able to say look it is now x days past the 3 months since I had the third that was how I got an appointment our of county out of PCN area etc everybody when started trying to help particularly when I pointed out that owing to back injury and not able to drive far at present nearest big walk in centre was 1 train and 2 bus rides away. Dr at PCN said no don,t do that we’ll sort something and they did in the end.
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Hi there lulu …I also have ET just diagnosed in October , although investigation into my high platelets started in March I had already just had my booster when diagnosed . Like you I read all about the fact that I should have a 3rd primary or in my case 2nd booster whether or not I was receiving treatment… at the moment I’m just on aspirin .I was banging my head against a brick wall everywhere I asked and was told that I was defo NOT elegible even thou I sent my GP INFO from blood cancer. Org and gov Uk
In desperation I call the vaccine helpline and confused the woman sooo much with my story that she just gave me an appt and said she would put the words 2nd booster on my notes!! I had it in Thursday and no one questioned me I have now had 2Astra zenica…a half dose Moderna and now a Pfizer…
DON’T GIVE UP…YOU ARE ENTITLED …GOOD LUCK 
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I wish life was simple. I will be walking to my local hospital for the 4th jab and take every bit of paperwork I have and they can examine it to their heart’s content. That way they cannot argue I have leukaemia.
What bothers me now is that our Prime Minister is doing away with masks, etc. right in the middle of the Omicron situation. The London area may be having less cases, but 1) people are still dying from this illness; 2) different parts of the country have not peaked from this.
I had planned to undertake a lot of medical appointments have not been able to do for two years once I had the jab, from regular different blood tests, seeing my ENT Consultant, getting my eyes and teeth done to having an MRI scan - all this besides having my 4th jab. Now with Johnson’s “back to normal” rubbish, it again scares me going out again to go close to others.
And just to add to the icing on the cake, have found a mouse in our flat and despite a pest control guy coming to try and sort it out on Friday, it has now got into our kitchen yesterday evening, Saturday. So all this, plus my husband having advanced prostate cancer, is not making me give up - but it is making me stressed. I have talked to both Blood Cancer UK and MacMillan about my situation, so have a strategy in place - but regardless, I feel I am a prisoner for life, at least whilst this moronic government is in power and our PM puts pleasing his headbanging backbenchers first, rather than the highly vulnerable.
As the old song says, “We Shall Not Be Moved”, and I certainly will get to where I am going, one way or another. Just will have to live with a mouse for a day or two longer. It will be easier to get rid of it than Boris, despite both of them being vermin!
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To get rid of the mouse, put down a trap with chocolate on it, it always does the trick… living in rural Cornwall, I am thankful when it’s a mouse and not a rat!
I have been to the dentist, opticians, outpatients for a minor op, and seen a dermatologist for a couple of things, they are all very safe.
I also have 3 monthly blood tests - actually, next one is only a month after my last, as they’ve upped my medical dose, and want more tests, they are also very safe.
(I also ended up in an empty methodist church, for my 4th dose, that looked like the Marie Celeste, but that’s another story - there were all the hand sanitiser bottles, and distance notices though… but no people - very safe if somewhat useless!)
If you feel others not wearing masks is an issue try an ffp3 (some people think they are too “snug” but an ffp2 is also very good), they protect the wearer, so it doesn’t matter if others don’t wear masks.
The run-arounds, and paperwork for jabs, and letters, etc is a hassle, but I find persistence pays off.
I have a list of paperwork and officialdom to tackle, I have it pinned up, and tick it off when it’s a success, there are now more with ticks than without, so the fact it’s progressing, spurs me on.
and our cooker went this week, and can’t get anyone to fix it till next week, and the downstairs loo has sprung a leak , plumbers seem more elusive than cooker engineers, but these things happen, it may feel like a conspiracy sometimes, but it’s really just life!
don’t let the $%^&*() get you down 
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Hi Heather,
Thanks for your response. Strangely enough we thought there was a gas leak and had to have our gas turned off, then our regular guy came out and said there was no problem, turned the gas back on said we may have a cooker problem instead. The cooker guy came out on Thursday and is getting is new hob parts. It was that evening, that we found the mouse - one thing after another!
Sorry, not clear, I have three blood tests together and then later in the year, a blood test to check my Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL).
I bought 2 box like traps from Amazon - arriving tomorrow. Do not want to see these things dead so they can die in a box! I am also presuming we have a mouse in our flat - not dark brown but tan coloured and could not see a tail - perhaps a juvenile?? Whatever it is I want it out of here.
My problem is not just being safe when I visit other medical appointments, but I am also responsible for looking after my husband who has advanced prostate cancer. I cannot risk myself for me, but also for him. He gets very stressed out - his hormone tablets do not help his moods. So whichever I turn, I am in a horrible situation.
Cannot go out and get chocolates - only via weekly a online shop do we get groceries in. I presume when we get the box type trap, there is stuff in it to poison the mouse.
Re: masks, I have all kinds but will go either for the thicker white mask, but have never used the one with the snout. Will call in advance the optician and dentist to find out their safety procedures, as they will not be my regular ones, which I cannot reach due to having to take public transport. These alternatives are in walking distance. Unlike my surgery, hope their patients are wearing masks.
Sorry this response is all over the place - only had a few hours sleep last night. Anyway take care and stay safe.
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It does seem like one thing after another, but I think, if we are already stressed out about something, the next think always appears worse,
House mice are small and normally light brown - we had one bite it’s way through a water trap in the bottom of the dishwasher, and we only knew, when the dishwasher flooded, and as it was upstairs, we had a really wet house. The repair man showed us where the mouse had chewed the water trap, you could definitely see the teeth marks.
Apparently, with the water coming out of the trap, the dishwasher never reaches it’s “full” level, so it just keeps going, water in, and water out…and out…
So, I tell myself, the cooker and loo could be worse!
Mouse traps normally come with something in them to start with, so you should be fine - I always have chocolate in the house, peanut butter is also very good, but I don’t normally have that.
My mum is 91 and wheelchair bound, she is very independent, but there is a lot I have to do for her. I don’t think the government understand, as we all live a lot longer, the people who end up looking after the more infirm, would have been the ones being looked after themselves, not so long ago. My mum calls it “old people, looking after older people” - not sure I would call myself old, but I am a pensioner, so I suppose I am.
You should be able to get help looking after your husband, McMillan should be able to help.
I hope you have a better nights sleep tonight, and take care of yourself
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Hi Heather,
It’s scarry what you said as when the mouse was in the kitchen, after I emptied our washer/dryer, that was when that mouse came out - from underneath this item. I pray it is not going to chew through a water connection pipe behind this bit of equipment and flood the kichen. I cannot expect a pest controller to lift our washer/dryer away from the back of the wall to check things out. We are in our 70s, so no heavy lifting for us. It is all such a worry, but i guess it has take my mind off the gas/stove problem and my medical appointments!
My husband is up and about, so does not need any help doing things, but his hormone treatment makes him moody and tearful - not what you want in an emegency. Anyway I am the one that usually gets things done, as long as I am not in too much pain, which I have been lately - some bad sinusitis, lower right back problem and also on the left side my upper back/shoulder/back problem. Then there is depression and anxiety which is like a see-saw. All these physical problems have happened since just before Xmas, which is why two appointments alone is to see my ENT guy, who before lockdown suggested I might need a nose op. For the muscular stuff, need an MRI which hopefully I can get in about March. Of course all this assumes that another virus will not come along, although I have heard that Omicron (2) is making an appearance. I do get fed up being Superwoman or the cleaner of the elephant enclosure!
I have been trying to lose weight, so no chocolates for me Heather. I was pre-diabetic then not at all, but since my husband was diagnosed, my weight has gone back up again.
I have two different tablets to take a day. But besides this, I take as and when needed a pill for pain problems and another is for helping me sleep. I will take the latter tonight but will need to be up in the morning early to sort out the pest control situation. Also have a volunteer to assist with butcher deliveries, but cannot reach him, so hope that will change this coming week. As I say, it is one thing after another. I had expected a quiet weekend, but not even that.
Thank you for replying and encouragement. We do not have kids or siblings or anybody close and only one friend that lives about 5 miles from us - most have moved away. My friend has an invalid husband to support, but at least she can go out and about since they are not classed vulnerable. I have an elderly cousin in her 90s in France and my husband has a cousin he never really liked, who lives the other side of London to us. So basically we are on our own. Most of our neighbours come and go and these days, do not even know who most of them are.
I keep on thinking and hoping all this is a nightmare, but it is not and we have such an uncaring government (besides a corrupt, lying and incompetent one). They were quite happy to kill off the elderly in nursing homes when Covid first arrived, and now treats us vulnerables pretty much the same way. We are invisible yet with everybody else, told to go around normally - would love to do that, but… However, since we cannot, it makes matters worse if one is stuck in our situation; it is like rubbing our noses in it.
Take care and stay safe.
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