The struggle to get the vaccine 💉

This is the story of me getting the vaccine at Tottenham.

I had been hearing from lots of King’s students that they had gotten vaccinated, even months before their age groups were supposed to get it.

I was told to go to a vaccination booking center on Guy’s Campus. Well, I went and got turned away.

I was also told to go stand outside the vaccination centers to get leftover jabs at the end of the day. Well, I tried for a few days and it didn’t work because everyone had the same idea.

King’s hasn’t been helpful either. King’s vaccination info page just talks about how great King’s has been in contributing to the vaccine rollout.

Also, @King’s peeps, if you’re reading this, can you please remove this from your website: ‘you need to be registered with GP [sic] before you can have a COVID-19 vaccine’?

This statement is not true. You do NOT need to be registered with a GP to get the vaccine. It is stated on various NHS websites that you can get the vaccine regardless of GP registration. You do NOT need an NHS number (or proof of immigration status).

Instead, @King’s peeps, it would be helpful to send out a list of places where (international) King’s students can get vaccinated easily.

After some time, I figured out that some places were doing walk-ins. I’ve heard from many people that St Thomas’ Hospital was doing walk-in appointments for some time for some people, although their website is rather illusive on this point. I figured you just had to be lucky and go on the right days.

Finally in June, the UK opened up vaccinations to younger people. I tried to book on the NHS website but could only get appointments quite far in future. This would have meant that I possibly needed to get a second dose in Belgium or the Netherlands which could be a different jab and which could cause problems with proving vaccination status when travelling.

Luckily, I came across an article with walk-in centers. Even with walk-in centers, some only offer vaccines to local residents or older age groups. But the Tottenham Hotspur vaccination pop-up center was offering to anyone over 18.

So I took a bus up north on a misty Sunday.

Queued for about an hour.

Read the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine leaflet and filled in my details.

Got the jab.

Waited for 15 minutes.

Had a look around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and their shop.

And hopped on a bus back south.

Everything was well-organized. Staff and volunteers were super friendly. I had a great experience. Would recommend! #COYS

Everyone also gets contacted for a second jab.

You can get the vaccine in the following ways:

• Book by visiting: www.NHS.uk/covid-vaccination
• Book by calling: 119
• Contact a GP (even if you’re not registered with any GP and don’t have an NHS number): https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-migrant-health-guide#accessing-covid-19-vaccination-without-an-nhs-number
• Be lucky and/or find a walk-in/pop-up vaccination center: eg https://selondonccg.nhs.uk/what-we-do/covid-19/covid-19-vaccine/pop-up-clinics/

King’s students can register with the King’s College London NHS Health Centre, which is a GP, here: https://www.kclnhshealthcentre.com.

Information about vaccine safety and trials can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/mhra-guidance-on-coronavirus-covid-19#vaccines-and-vaccine-safety and in research journals like the Lancet or NEJM.

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