"Vaccination"

First, I want to thank the lovely people at my local vaccination centre here in Fife. My problem relates to procedures, not people. The people are great, and I am pleased to have had my covid booster jag.

Last week general booking for covid booster jags opened here in Scotland for my age cohort (40-49 year olds). We were encouraged to use the NHS website to book a booster jag at any time from 24 weeks after the second dose. I did so immediately, for a date 24 weeks to the day from my second dose.

Yesterday, the JCVI brought this forward to three months following the second dose, in the face of the omicron variant. I immediately rescheduled my appointment, finding one available in walking distance the following day. 

I did have the sense, given the line of questioning at reception, that I was in some way jumping the queue - in spite of bookings being open for my age cohort and very specific advice from the JCVI. The receptionist was great about it, and I think there was a sense in which she had to tick a box on the computer, but I was very uncomfortable.

I am autistic, so I am perhaps oversensitive to the suggestion that I have done something wrong, because this happens all the time, but my reading of the situation is that I was following the advice of the Health Secretary, the National Clinical Director (who is presumably advising the Health Secretary) and the JCVI. 

I see no information to the effect that I should wait for a specific invitation, as was the case for my first two doses. Official advice, including the NHS website, seemed very clear that I should use my initiative, but I was, as mentioned, left with the impression that I should have waited until some unspecified time in the future.

I understand that the present situation seems to be leading to changes on an almost daily basis, but I would hate for this kind of incident to lead to a situation where people are left disinclined to request vaccination, so perhaps something needs to be done about these procedures. 

To add to the suggestion that there is a problem with procedures, I have just, six hours *after* my appointment, received email confirmation of it.

This is not a complaint. I am not upset with the receptionist, who presumably had a box to tick, but if I did something wrong by following what I thought was official vaccination advice (and it's certainly true that I often misinterpret the way neurotypicals think and act), then the advice needs to be clarified. If I didn't, then the line of questioning needs to be changed in order to reflect that.