Last modified on Mon 8 Feb 2021 16.00 EST
When and how will I be able to get a Covid vaccine?
The government’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) says its priority is to prevent Covid-related deaths and protect health and social care staff and systems.
Elderly care home residents and their carers are first on the JCVI’s list because their risk of exposure to the virus is higher and because the risk of death closely correlates with older age. They are followed in priority by anyone else over 80 and frontline health and social care workers. Next come those aged 75 and over, then those aged 70 and over – plus clinically extremely vulnerable individuals. The goal is for everyone in these groups to have been offered a first vaccine dose by 15 February, with second doses to be given up to 12 weeks later.
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As a GP at a practice serving 60,000 patients in York, Abbie Brooks spent most of early December preparing for the imminent rollout of the newly approved Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine. But while appointments were booked, and staff were briefed, doses of the vaccine were nowhere to be seen.
âWe were advised we were going to get a delivery, and then [at the] last minute, the vaccines didnât arrive so we had to cancel patients which was obviously upsetting for patients and staff,â she says. âWhen we were able to get going, the deliveries werenât the numbers we were expecting.â While Brooks says that deliveries have been more consistent so far in 2021, GPs across the UK have reported that their expected vaccine deliveries are being delayed as manufacturers race to deliver as many doses as possible.
7 January 2021
Lamotrigine (Lamictal) and levetiracetam (Keppra) have been found to be safer than other antiepileptic drugs in pregnancy. The MHRA advises patients not to stop taking their current medicines without first discussing it with a healthcare professional.
The review by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency examined safety data for risks of major birth defects or abnormalities and concerns with the child’s development including learning and thinking abilities for other key antiepileptic drugs. It found that a number of these epilepsy medicines may be associated with some increased risks in pregnancy.
Valproate (Epilim) is already known to be seriously harmful if taken in pregnancy and should only be prescribed to a woman if a pregnancy prevention plan is in place. Importantly, two antiepileptic medicines in particular, lamotrigine (Lamictal) and levetiracetam (Keppra), have both been found to be safer than other antiepileptic drugs in pregnancy. The M