A doctor has been answering COVID-19 and vaccine questions on Potters Bar Radio.
The online community-run service, which was launched in an effort to combat loneliness during the pandemic, asked doctor Gary Brook from Cuffley a series of questions compiled by its contributors.
This was in an effort to combat misinformation and concerns people have around the pandemic and vaccines. And something retired NHS consultant Gary knows about all too well from battling the Aids crisis and most recently through his work at a local vaccination centre.
During the question and answers session with Potters Bar host Mary Holt, who lives in Brookmans Park, Gary explained that healthcare workers have been vaccinated first as they are most exposed to the virus. And also those in older age groups because they are likely to be most affected by coronavirus.
He also walked through what happens in a vaccination centre, saying that people are first asked to sign a consent form, give their NHS number and then told what side effects the vaccine could have and confirm they're willing to go ahead.
"Then you're given the vaccine through your deltoid muscle, which is the muscle at the top of your arm that meets the shoulder," he said. "The vaccine [jab] lasts three or five seconds. And the vaccinator will put a sticker over that."
He did also mention that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has meant some allergic reactions, anaphylaxis, but as the healthcare service is aware of the people that are allergic to vaccines this has been rare. While the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has had no anaphylaxis reactions.
Dr Gary also said that at the moment they know the Oxford vaccine lasts five months but could last longer and there may be booster jabs in the future.
Host Mary has received great feedback from her audience, who said: “Terrific: perfectly pitched, accessible and very informative”. As well as "What a brilliant show. I thought I’d been doing a good job of keeping up with things but this had loads of extra helpful detail especially young people’s risk of long COVID.”
Another said: "It’s compelling to listen to someone who has the answers because he knows the answers instead of thinking he knows.”
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