A Saturday Ritual
Yesterday morning, I stood in a queue
at the invitation of my GP. There were two queues, one to the left and another
to the right. We on the right were the double jabbers, there to receive both
the annual flu jab and the biannual Covid vaccine booster. The ones on the left
were there for the flu jab alone.
The GP surgery is not usually open on
Saturdays, but for this annual ritual, a day is set aside in September,
October, or as late as November. I only began taking the flu jab ten years ago,
though it had been recommended to me much earlier.
Thirteen Jabs Later
In terms of COVID-19, this was my
thirteenth jab, or more correctly, the eleventh booster following the first two
doses in February and May 2021. The Coronavirus is not a distant memory, as the
statistics still show that people are being admitted to hospital with
complications from the disease.
According to the most recent figures
available from the UKHSA data dashboard, there were 261 COVID-19 hospital
admissions in the seven days up to 31 August 2026, an increase of 15 per cent
on the previous week, with 289 confirmed patients in hospital on that date. [UKHSA
data dashboard, COVID-19]
Receiving the boosters is now much
more convenient. For a while, it seems, delivering the Covid jab was a niche
activity that only a few pharmacies found profitable. In times past, beyond the
first two years when I could go to a sequestered place in the town hall, the
centres providing the service had progressively moved out of the town centre.
An AI-generated infographic on the blog content. (Click to enlarge.)
After the first three jabs, things
moved further afield still to chemists out of town, so much so that it became
rather more difficult to find ones that had the booster in stock to give it.
Twice, I had booked appointments only to arrive to disappointment.
Back to the Surgery
On one occasion, I got the booster in
a van on a large supermarket car park, and then last year, the Boots Chemist in
the shopping precinct on Market Street started offering Covid jabs. Imagine my
surprise when I got a message from my GP surgery that they could now deliver
the jabs, once they had a sense of how many people needed it.
It should always have been managed
through the primary care system at the GP surgery, and I am glad that is now
the case. That it is back within the management of the surgery is, for me, the
greater relief.
At the surgery you are seen by people
who know your medical history and can access the critical information needed to
support your treatment; the chemists and the vans cannot do that, for they can
only register that you have taken the shot. The staff at the surgery are always
attentive, professional, and helpful, and it is an easy place to fall into
conversation with others.
Aftermath and Advice
I took the flu jab in my right arm and
the Covid jab in my left arm. Both an aching arm and a headache registered
their presence throughout the day, so much so that I spent most of it in bed
until dusk, when I got up to have a meal. Brian, my partner, advised me to take
Paracetamol, which I rarely do; I had hoped to sleep it off. It is only mild
discomfort, yet it is energy-sapping, leaving you quite irritable and
uncomfortable.
I hope I regain my verve for tomorrow.
I know some people have advised against taking the booster shots, but they are
not from the medical establishment, so I have paid them no heed. Meanwhile, if
you are immunosuppressed and, or invited to take the flu jab, my advice is
this: don't think twice about it. Get the protection for the winter ahead.
