On the Use of the EICC for Vaccines in 2022

[danieldwilliam]

Bumped in to Dad on the way back from working out this morning. We were discussing the vaccine roll-out and he wondered what was going to happen when the people who owned the Edinburgh International Conference Centre wanted it back for non vaccine related things like conferences. With a working assumption that we are going to be vaccinating approximately everyone at least annually for at least 5 years where are we going to do it?

We then went on to wonder if extreme handwashing and sanitising will continue (almost certainly), whether facemasks will persist (likely) and whether an annual COVID vaccine would increase the offering and the take up of the annual flu vaccine (very likely). Which all probably means lower levels of things like flu in the future.

Comments

[armiphlage]

When SARS hit Toronto in 2003-2004, my company (and many others) installed hand sanitizers everywhere. We kept them, so when COVID-19 hit, we already had them in place.

One lasting change from COVID is that my country (Canada) might legislate the right for people to stay home when sick without losing pay or their jobs. That would be a help in future pandemics, in addition to stopping the spread of everyday illnesses.

A few years ago in my province, pharmacists were authorized to inject flu vaccines at any pharmacy, reducing the need for dedicated flu shot clinics staffed with nurses. That might be an option for annual COVID shots, too.

[danieldwilliam]

Aye, it's the fact that everywhere seems to have hand sanitiser stations now. So it's not a huge increase in cost to keep them topped up with alcohol gel.

I think I might go further on people staying at home when slightly sick and make it mandatory that they do so if they can do their work at home. Got a cold, stay out of the office.

Pharmacies would be the go to place for a simple proceedure like a vaccine. A quick Google suggests that there about 14,000 pharmacies in the UK for a population of about 65 million. So that's about 13 vaccinations per pharmacy per day if you do it evenly over the year. Or perhaps 50 a day (5 an hour) if you try and concentrate the vaccinations in to the run up to winter flu season. That's if you were doing everyone and that everyone who was being vaccinated was vaccinated at a pharmacy.

In reality you'd have large parts of the population done in different places; schools in their school halls, universities in their lecture theatres, GP surgeries, work places and so on.

[cmcmck]

I hope you're wrong on masks as I have severe psychological issues with them. :o(

[danieldwilliam]

I suspect as a thing people wear when they are ill themselves rather than a mandatory bit of PPE for going on the bus.

What's your problem with masks?

[cmcmck]

They make me panic.

I was abused as a child but I'm not sure it's related to that. I wish I knew the reason.

I wear them because other people but there surely has to come a point when vaccination is so far on that they cease to be needed?

[danieldwilliam]

I'm sorry to hear that.

My guess, for what it's worth, is that mandatory mask wearing will end once case numbers are back to being very low and the first round of the vaccination programme is concluded in July. I think people might keep wearing them voluntarily for a while yet.

Masks

[lsanderson]

Asia has been more into masks from various flu outbreaks and pollution. I suspect we'll see more everywhere.

Re: Masks

[danieldwilliam]

That was what we were thinking. There seems to be in Asian countries like Japan and Singapore a view that it is the right thing to do to wear if you yourself are unwell.

Not sure that I personally would want to wear a mask outdoors if I were not ill as a habit but I'd certainly consider it if I were unwell with a cold or similar.

[andrewducker]

Yeah, if we're going to vaccinate everyone yearly then we'll need to reorganise in a variety of ways.

Might be worth having people do it at their offices (for large officers).

On the other hand, if we're all working at home more that should open up some office space.

[danieldwilliam]

You just need a couple of meeting rooms next to each to run a mobile vaccination clinic I reckon.

So any employer large enough to keep a pair of nurses and an admin person busy all day would be worth doing in the office.

20 people an hour per nurse, is about 300 people. Or a thousand people if you're doing 1 a minute.

There are about 700 pupils and staff at the Captain's primary school. About the same in my office block.