Posted on 02/18/2021 6:21:32 AM PST by billorites
A man in his 30s with no underlying health conditions was offered a Covid vaccine after an NHS error mistakenly listed him as just 6.2cm in height.
Liam Thorp was told he qualified for the jab because his measurements gave him a body mass index of 28,000.
He told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I've put on a few pounds in lockdown but I was surprised to have made it to clinically, morbidly-obese.
"It really made me rethink what I was going to do for pancake night."
NHS Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group said occasional errors could happen.
Dr Fiona Lemmens admitted she could "see the funny side" but also recognized "there is an important issue for us to address".
"There are millions of GP appointments taking place every day and while we take care to make sure records are accurate, occasional data errors do occur."
Mr Thorp, 32, said he was surprised to be offered the vaccine so called his GP to check.
He was then informed he was in vaccine priority group six because of his weight. The NHS says a BMI of between 30 and 39.9 is classed as obese.
"Like most people, I've put on a few pounds in lockdown but I was surprised to have made it all the way to the clinically, morbidly-obese category," he said.
"Although my mum wasn't surprised by this. She said she'd noticed I'd put on a few and this was probably the wake-up call I needed."
It was only when he received a call back the following day that the mix-up became clear.
Rather than being listed at 6ft 2ins in height, he was registered as 6.2cm, which led to the error in his BMI.
"I'm a bit on the chunky side, I weigh a good 17-and-a-half stone
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
Jabba the Hutt had a BMI around 800. Rosie O’Donnell reportedly hit 1300 or so. Even Hillary! topped out just shy of 2500 before she desiccated.
28,000 is just ridiculous. Someone should have caught the error.
No word on how the “NHS error” happened. Most likely someone entered the wrong number into the system, which was stupidly designed and did not reject or flag the impossible number.
Once they enter something into a computer system, everyone bows down and worships the system, which has a life of its own, and doesn’t always allow you to change a wrong value.
Yes you are.
And you will like it. And send them a thank you note pleading for a second one.
Somebody graduated from a Ca. high school.
At that height, one would expect him to be feeling rather puny.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.