Bringing your 2nd Covid jab forward - How?

Bringing your 2nd Covid jab forward - How?

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Discussion

FreeLitres

Original Poster:

6,039 posts

176 months

Sunday 20th June 2021
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I'm in my 40s and had my first AZ jab in April.

My 2nd jab is booked in late July. (Booked at the same time as booking the first)

I keep hearing that due to the risks of the Delta variant, we should bring forward the 2nd jab. Yes please!

On the NHS website, the process seems to be to CANCEL your 2nd jab then then to rebook it. The last thing I would want is to cancel my existing appointment then find the alternatives are even later in August as the slots have been filled with all the 18+ first jabs.

Is there a way to secure the new sooner timeslot before cancelling your existing one?


hepy

1,260 posts

139 months

Sunday 20th June 2021
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Brought mine forward 3 weeks, doing exactly what you described above.


lost in espace

6,135 posts

206 months

Sunday 20th June 2021
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You can probably just turn up, my date was wrong not my fault and the just said I was a turn up and processed me.

bitchstewie

50,767 posts

209 months

Sunday 20th June 2021
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I did this on Friday.

The website is a bit messed up I think because when I put in my details it recognised me and did the whole "cancel and rebook" thing and said the next free date was today which wouldn't be 8 weeks.

So you cancel but then it's initially showing dates you can't have if that makes sense.

Work out when 8 weeks is and try moving forward that far before you hit cancel.

If you call 119 they just use the same website apparently.

FreeLitres

Original Poster:

6,039 posts

176 months

Monday 21st June 2021
quotequote all
Thanks for the comments.

I followed the process on the NHS booking site and it does show you the available dates before you commit to cancelling your current booking.

I managed to book my 2nd jab around the 8 week mark. Loads of availability in my local vaccination stations.

elise2000

1,462 posts

218 months

Monday 21st June 2021
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If you call your gp and give good reason they may. I’ve had mine after 4 weeks

FreeLitres

Original Poster:

6,039 posts

176 months

Monday 21st June 2021
quotequote all
We tried the GP and we didn't have a good experience.

My Wife rang and after being on hold for about 30 minutes the receptionist took her details including the fact she needs an AZ jab and said she would need to phone my Wife back. About 2 hours later, she got a text with a link to a (non NHS) booking site with an appointment which had been brought forward. Great.

As soon as I saw this outcome, I thought I would do the same. Rang the same GP, on hold 30 mins, reception answered and said they wouldn't have any injection slots before my current date at the end of July (?!). Furthermore, she said they only stock the Pfizer jabs as it's mainly younger people getting the jab now. (My Wife needs an AZ - have they got the right one for her?). Bungles.

Anyway, the NHS booking website was really straight forward and mine is booked in a big vaccination centre so I'm sure they will have a range of jabs in stock (AZ, Pfizer, etc).

towser44

3,472 posts

114 months

Monday 21st June 2021
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I had an email late last week offering to bring forward my 2nd jab. I thought it a bit strange though, as I had kept my original 2nd jab appointment, which I made in February, and had already had the 2nd jab the week before the email offering me to bring it forward!

Ben Jk

1,591 posts

165 months

Monday 21st June 2021
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I had the same dilemma and risked it late last week and cancelled my original date. Managed to get a new date earlier bang on 8 weeks.

If you had AZ you will be fine as the under 40’s won’t be booking it.

Mars

8,666 posts

213 months

Monday 21st June 2021
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When I was sent the text about booking an earlier jab, I went through the cancel and rebook system online only to find no earlier bookings available and I had now lost my original place. The system did not show the calendar before I got to the cancellation stage.

I called 119 only to find the lady was booking via the same website (not her fault).

In the end I had to book a different (inconvenient) centre and only managed to bring my date forward by 24hours.

It was an unnecessarily frustrating experience and I wish I hadn't bothered trying to rebook at all.

survivalist

5,614 posts

189 months

Monday 21st June 2021
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I got a text at the weekend informing me that I had cancelled my pre-booked second jab (I hadn’t). Not can’t rebook online for some reason.

I don’t have much patience so not sure I can be arsed to phone my GP. That said, now that we’ve cancelled our summer holiday in Europe I’m not sure it matters. Sure they’ll get to me eventually.

Welshbeef

49,633 posts

197 months

Monday 21st June 2021
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I’m wary of cancelling my second

Currently does the rebooked second jab have to be the same jab as the first - or whatever they have?

I’m Moderna so need a local second jab - booking first jab the distances they were offering was so far it was crazy (frankly needing to take a whole morning off of work / unable to work due to travelling).

Douglas Quaid

2,268 posts

84 months

Monday 21st June 2021
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For what it’s worth the 12 week interval makes the vaccine more effective than 8. You’re at extremely low risk in your 40s anyway but you might as well have the optimal version of it so unless there’s a pressing need why don’t you just leave it at 12 weeks?

FreeLitres

Original Poster:

6,039 posts

176 months

Tuesday 22nd June 2021
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Douglas Quaid said:
For what it’s worth the 12 week interval makes the vaccine more effective than 8. You’re at extremely low risk in your 40s anyway but you might as well have the optimal version of it so unless there’s a pressing need why don’t you just leave it at 12 weeks?
Do you have a source for this?

I've been driven by the fact that one AZ was only ~30% effective against delta. Plus, I have to visit lots of customers across the UK so want the protection of 2 jabs asap.

Podie

46,630 posts

274 months

Tuesday 22nd June 2021
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FreeLitres said:
Douglas Quaid said:
For what it’s worth the 12 week interval makes the vaccine more effective than 8. You’re at extremely low risk in your 40s anyway but you might as well have the optimal version of it so unless there’s a pressing need why don’t you just leave it at 12 weeks?
Do you have a source for this?

I've been driven by the fact that one AZ was only ~30% effective against delta. Plus, I have to visit lots of customers across the UK so want the protection of 2 jabs asap.
Also interested in this, as my employer is insisting on a return to the office in August, so would rather have two cooked jabs if I’m back on a commuter train…

toon10

6,140 posts

156 months

Tuesday 22nd June 2021
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I've just done this now. I cancelled first and found closer sites to re-book. Unfortunately, all of the closer places only had appointments after my original one! I found a slot a week early in the existing location so all good.

Crook

6,711 posts

223 months

Tuesday 22nd June 2021
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If you can find a walk in clinic - I don't know if the information is readily available - you can go in after 8 weeks - get jabbed and they will cancel your later booked second appointment - no risk of losing your spot.

Different centres do different vaccines on different days.

speedchick

5,173 posts

221 months

Tuesday 22nd June 2021
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Was hesitant to cancel the confirmed booking I had. I have to walk past the vacc centre every day, mentioned it to one of the guys on the door and he said come early morning one day next week and we'll get you in. Then the gov opened up another age group and it went back to bookings only. We played the 'have you got room for a little one' routine each morning for 2 weeks and one morning he fwt me straight in as a walk in.

If your local health authority are putting on pop up vacc buses, you may be able to get a 2nd jab there as a walking. Could be worth finding out?

TheAngryDog

12,394 posts

208 months

Tuesday 22nd June 2021
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I don't even have a date for my second as mine was booked a different way. Hopefully they haven't forgotten about me!

r159

2,240 posts

73 months

Wednesday 23rd June 2021
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Cancelled and rebooked two weeks earlier in a slightly better location, loads of choices if willing to travel a little bit.