Covid Vaccine

[AFC]

Hi,

Is anyone aware what age group we are on now for vaccinations? Not looking to take the Astra Zenica one.

[steveodp]

We are 54 and 53 and were called for our first one last week - Sinovac (Lapta area)

[AFC]

Thanks for coming back to me, how did that go? Any major side effects?

I think my only concern with hospitals here is, are they competent enough to follow guidelines with storage of vaccine at the required temperature?

[benjaminbutton]

What alternative do you have? Being in a position to have a vaccination at all is of prime importance. I certainly wouldn't have gone from facility to facility checking on their storage capabilities. Just grateful to have been one of the first, back in early February. I have friends who have trusted the hospitals to have heart, brain and major eye surgery, so I think you can trust them to have cold enough refrigeration units.

[waddo]

As far as I can find out the Sinovac vaccine only requires storage in a normal fridge, so provided that all the beer has been taken out of it there should be room for your vaccine. We have had both of ours and no side effects at all.

[AFC]

I'm 49 so will probably be called up I guess in the next month or so, touch wood! I do have the option of having the vaccine in Dubai, though it would mean travel to the UAE. Hence the question to those who have been vaccinated, knowing what you know now, in hindsight would still have the vaccine here, or go elsewhere if it were possible.

The unorderly queueing etc is not an issue, its just solely based on the administration of the vaccine and if anyone experienced any side effects how effectively they were dealt with etc

[Laura B]

I would most certainly have mine here, as I did in late January. Why on earth would anyone think of travelling to another country for vaccination? I consider that as immigrants to be offered the vaccine free of charge is amazing. I had the sinovac and the only effect I may have had was tiredness for a day or two afterwards but that could have been totally unrelated to the vaccine.

[Butterflyaway]

My wife and myself both had the two doses of the Pfizer vaccine at Trenyolu in Nicosia.

I was also concerned as to the storage.

When we got into the room to have the vaccine, there were eight staff members including two nurses who were giving the jabs. Two writing out the vaccine cards, others writing other bits and a manager.

I read previously about the storage of Pfizer, the mix required, etc.

I asked the manager about the temperature storage of Pfizer and she explained it exactly as Pfizer had instructed.

She explained they must email Pfizer daily with the batch numbers and temperature. Plus lots of other details.

She said I had been the only patient who had read up about Pfizer and wanted to know about the storage temperatures.

I asked how they managed to keep the vaccines at such low temperatures. She further explained that they get “dry ice” from Turkey every 3-7 days. This means that the vaccine can be kept at the very low temperatures required.

Just then a man arrived with another box of dry ice!

I believe that every patient that gets Pfizer has both doses allocated to them and they keep the second dose for exactly three weeks.

Both times we were there, we did not see anyone’s name on the list of about 200, that was not a Turkish name, (apart from ours).

[Butterflyaway]

AFC.

I received your PM and I have replied by PM.

[jofra]

Latest news regarding storage temperature/time of Pfizer vaccine....

[benjaminbutton]

Butterflyaway. I and 12 other friends spread over three days, went to the same State clinic as yourself. (four of whom were swallows who went on the off chance - and were over 65). I too was there when an ambulance arrived with the dry ice. This was back in early February and the system worked like clockwork. Have no complaints at all. We were asked if we preferred Chinese or German vaccine. We opted for German and a second dose was held over for us three weeks later.

[mrsgee]

Can you just elaborate on what exactly is the 'German vaccine? I have family in Germany and this is a new one none of us have heard of.

[AFC]

The BioNTech, Pfizer vaccine, BioNTech, a German company, developed the vaccine and collaborated with Pfizer, an American company, for support with clinical trials, logistics, and manufacturing.

[wanderer]

Phisher is the German one developed by biontec a company owned by the developers of the vaccine who are first generation Turkish immigrant's
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/10/busi ... 20BioNTech.

Glad we are not waiting for the French one its still not here

[Butterflyaway]

Butterflyaway. I and 12 other friends spread over three days, went to the same State clinic as yourself. (four of whom were swallows who went on the off chance - and were over 65). I too was there when an ambulance arrived with the dry ice. This was back in early February and the system worked like clockwork. Have no complaints at all. We were asked if we preferred Chinese or German vaccine. We opted for German and a second dose was held over for us three weeks later.

They were so helpful for us as well.

Even though my wife and myself are in different age groups, 59 and 60, they booked us in together and everything was co-ordinated so we could have the jabs together.

When it was our turn to go into the waiting room, they put us in front of the locals, who looked at us as if we were celebrities! Very embarrassing.

Everyone wore a mask, loads of space to sit, all organized by your own time slot, a list on the wall of all the patients names.

I’m now trying to get our UK doctor to put our vaccination info on the NHS website, for the app, but I won’t hold my breath.

[benjaminbutton]

Butterflyaway. I agree about the celebrity bit. I helped walk an old dear from the waiting room in front of us to try and show that wasn't the case. The locals were convinced the "German" vaccine had been specially imported was only offered to foreigners (obviously that was malicious misinformation being spread around back then) Even my poolman was under the same impression!!

[kibsolar1999]

Butterflyaway. I agree about the celebrity bit. I helped walk an old dear from the waiting room in front of us to try and show that wasn't the case. The locals were convinced the "German" vaccine had been specially imported was only offered to foreigners (obviously that was malicious misinformation being spread around back then) Even my poolman was under the same impression!!

this misinformation, unbelievable. as the people would not follow the news. but, on the other hand, these news are not easy to get.
eg, how many jabs a day are done, which vaccine is used in which numbers for whom (age groups, vulnerable), the lot...

and also it seems it is not very much promoted/informed that nothing of the Biontech vaccine is "imported" and definitely not for "foreigners".
if, then "for EU-turkish cypriots", as the EU/RoC supplies Astra and Biontech to the North.
till today, to my knowledge, around 20k Biontech and 10k Astra.

[waddo]

That's really good of the EU to provide 30,000 vaccines for the Turkish Cypriots/EU citizens in the North. Wonder why it is such a small number, as the Prez Nik (as his people call him) says there are 350,000 EU Turkish Cypriots in the North?

Not being either a Turkish Cypriot or having been removed from the citizenship of the EU, I was more than happy to have the Sinovac vaccine here, I would not have taken the EU provided version/s anyway as it/they was/were not provided for me.

[kibsolar1999]

That's really good of the EU to provide 30,000 vaccines for the Turkish Cypriots/EU citizens in the North. Wonder why it is such a small number, as the Prez Nik (as his people call him) says there are 350,000 EU Turkish Cypriots in the North?
.....

well, there was sort of an uproar (from Tatar) when RoC prez Anastasiakis greeted "my turkish cypriot citizens" recently (for bayram festivities)... and in this article i read that 97.000 TCs do actually have a RoC passport and are therefor EU citizens.
(btw, the TRNC counts 382k, not sure how many of them are citizens. or they count "inhabitants"...)

can be that some "others" are counted as well, eg, pre 74 born with RoC birth certificate who never bothered to apply for a RoC passport...
but the "TCs counted for the EU vaccine share" are most probably sort of 12-15% of the total cyprus population only...

but i think the supply to the north is still "a bit short", as the RoC jabbed 450k doses already.