The COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Australia has begun

Any reason why you consistently are negative on the proven GP channel? As I anticipated much earlier in the conversation, they are doing the heavy-lifting in spite of the difficulties.

They have done heavy lifting to date becuase they are the main channel Feds decided to supply vaccine to. Unless you are a HQ, Health or Emergency worker you havent had option to go to the hospitals giving the Pfizer.

Preferancing GP was based on flawed assumptions that everyone has a regular GP and can get time off work in business hours to visit one. Plus are not suitable for Pfizer.

Overseas they are achieving faster and more efficient roll-out via mass vac centres which have extended hours (not GP hours), many dont require appointments and less wastage due to scale. We should be learning from overseas sucesses and not making getting vaccinated more difficult than it needs to be.

If GP model is what everyone wanted there wouldn't be so many appointment vacancies. 1B is predominantly over 70s who dont work, but once 2A starts you are talking about working age people who need more accessible options.

The states have had to lobby for extra supply to be made available so they can set up alternatives - an ability to expand the hospital and clinics used for 1a workers to 1B (and eventually others). This is better option for lots of people, and i expect it will be the more popular choice with under 50s who dont have health issues.

Most working age people get flu shots at their worlkplace if offered, this channel has been totally ignored in the covid plan (unless you work at a hospital or in aged care). Its efficient and doesn't require people take time off. Much better option to have a nurse give at workplace, than a pharmacist at a chemist or have to do a bunch of paperwork to be set up in a GP practice you will likely never go to if not for fact that they were only local choice for a vaccine.
 
Overseas they are achieving faster and more efficient roll-out via mass vac centres which have extended hours (not GP hours), many dont require appointments and less wastage due to scale. We should be learning from overseas sucesses and not making getting vaccinated more difficult than it needs to be.
I was in and out of a GP clinic (not my regular) in half an hour, including my wait time. It is not difficult. I haven't quite figured out your negativity to most posts, but I'm sure I will.

PS. Did you like my last graph that removed your assertion of bias and spin that showed Australia performing well against many countries?

PSS. If we could obtain more supply, GP channel would smash it even further. Most states, for instance QLD, couldn't even get their COVID facing staff vaccinated in an appropriate time, hence the PA hospital breakout. I would not trust my fumbling premier and especially not Dr Stephen Miles (Doctorate of Union Renewal) of establishing anything like the hubs that you espouse, given their propensity for failure so far.
 
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Preferancing GP was based on flawed assumptions that everyone has a regular GP and can get time off work in business hours to visit one. Plus are not suitable for Pfizer.

This is untrue.

Again it’s been widely reported and posted on here many times as well that the new TGA study into Pfizer storage means the ultra low temperature storage is not necessary for an extended period which means GP’s are easily suitable for Pfizer and from all reports this weekend will be administering Pfizer as well which is great.

If GP model is what everyone wanted there wouldn't be so many appointment vacancies. 1B is predominantly over 70s who dont work, but once 2A starts you are talking about working age people who need more accessible options.

There’s only anecdotal random media reports of appointment vacancies and regardless they are far more likely due to the media around clotting linked to AZ and Pfizer, rather than accessibility plus school holidays.

Most working age people get flu shots at their worlkplace if offered,

This is again untrue.

Most flu shots are administered through GP clinics, clinic outreaches and pharmacists by a country mile.

Now don’t get me wrong, I think we should be using every single channel to vaccinate including the mass centres that the Victorians are leading with. We should be doing it all.

But as the tabloid media keep flogging the minuscule clotting risks of AZ and Pfizer and the fact we have no covid - there will now be a lot of dubious / scared / hesitant people that will want a trusted healthcare professional to talk to before their shot and I suspect in Australia our vaccination experience is going to heavily rely on these versus the overseas model of ‘just anyone jab any available arm in a car park’ because people are dying left right and centre.
 
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A few weeks ago you were waiting 2 weeks to get an appointment with the respiratory clinic...... ABC reporting that GPs are saying they are getting a large number of cancellations and there are thousands of unused vials sitting in fridges across the country. Now maybe after a week of being scared people will decide to get vaccinated - we will see.

Be careful drawing generalised conclusions from anecdotal media reports is all I can say.

We (have links to a lot of successful clinic tenders both in and out of primary care) have seen a drop off, no doubt caused by the media flaying AZ and Pfizer for the clotting links plus school holiday disruptions as per usual but not as much as I would have thought given the breathless reporting and knee jerk reactions from certain organisations and people.

Honestly if people would all calm down a bit and stop reading cough media the world would be such a better place :)
 
Be careful drawing generalised conclusions from anecdotal media reports is all I can say.

We (have links to a lot of successful clinic tenders both in and out of primary care) have seen a drop off, no doubt caused by the media flaying AZ and Pfizer for the clotting links plus school holiday disruptions as per usual but not as much as I would have thought given the breathless reporting and knee jerk reactions from certain organisations and people.

Honestly if people would all calm down a bit and stop reading cough media the world would be such a better place :)
So we are supposed to live in a vacuum and have no idea about anything? I try to get my info from as many different sources as I can. E.g. the actual figures from Health.gov showing the drop in vaccinations over the last week. I am nearly 69 I want to be vaccinated - I have had a daughter and a son overseas for the last year so I am very aware that the wonderful environment we have had is not the norm. If vaccinations pick up this week it will be terrific, but it seems to me from all the sources I am looking at (Health.gov, the change in bookings at my local respiratory centre, plus Meda reports), that there was an issue with vaccination hesitancy last week. That needs to be addressed and pleas from the PM doesn’t seem to quite cut it.
 
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I am nearly 69 I want to be vaccinated
If you’re not in 1A or 1B, then hopefully you won’t have too long to wait for 2A to start.

Those of us in 2B have a much longer wait. I want to travel in December but if I haven’t been vaccinated there’s no chance of that happening.
 
Preferancing GP was based on flawed assumptions that everyone has a regular GP and can get time off work in business hours to visit one. Plus are not suitable for Pfizer.
Or that ones usual GP would opt in. I did some searching and found one who was happy to vaccinate with minimal detail given it wasn't through age, but sadly people in my age group and older aren't always computer literate (phone lines were jammed) or have someone else to do the leg work.
 
If you’re not in 1A or 1B, then hopefully you won’t have too long to wait for 2A to start.

Those of us in 2B have a much longer wait. I want to travel in December but if I haven’t been vaccinated there’s no chance of that happening.
Well let’s hope that the strategy resetting that they are doing at the moment means mass vaccinations for 2B plus Pfizer arriving in large amounts by Q4 means that you will be vaccinated by then. Bonus with Pfizer is only 3 weeks between jabs vs 12 with AZ, so fully vaccinated very quickly.
 
Well let’s hope that the strategy resetting that they are doing at the moment means mass vaccinations for 2B plus Pfizer arriving in large amounts by Q4 means that you will be vaccinated by then. Bonus with Pfizer is only 3 weeks between jabs vs 12 with AZ, so fully vaccinated very quickly.

Yes, but news coming out in the US says Pfizer booster may be required again as early as 26 weeks which would be a headache :(
 
Yes, but news coming out in the US says Pfizer booster may be required again as early as 26 weeks which would be a headache :(
Yes it seems almost definite that there will have to be boosters for all the options :(. With all the variants and varying levels of efficacy against them, it’s going to be a long time until it all settles down. Annual jabs seem likely
 
Yes it seems almost definite that there will have to be boosters for all the options :(. With all the variants and varying levels of efficacy against them, it’s going to be a long time until it all settles down. Annual jabs seem likely


Yes the ongoing and regular vaccinations is just one of the many reasons that we need GP's involved in Covid vaccinations as the whole population living throughout Australia is going to require ongoing access. ie Just as with the flu vaccinations, but as Covid is more deadly it really is a must have, rather than just good to have.
 
Things are changing so fast that it makes planning difficult. Having said that hopefully later this year things will be getting a lot clearer.

Whilst vaccines may require relatively "minor" changes to deal with new variants there's always the risk that those seemingly "minor" changes could lead to new side effects.

So while Pfizer may be the government's preferred vaccine for under 50s at the moment there's the possibility of the unexpected occurring leading to needing to change to a different vaccine again.
 
Things are changing so fast that it makes planning difficult. Having said that hopefully later this year things will be getting a lot clearer.

Whilst vaccines may require relatively "minor" changes to deal with new variants there's always the risk that those seemingly "minor" changes could lead to new side effects.

So while Pfizer may be the government's preferred vaccine for under 50s at the moment there's the possibility of the unexpected occurring leading to needing to change to a different vaccine again.


Hopefully for the under 50's the Novavax will free/speed up the availability of being vaccinated later this year.
 
Yes the ongoing and regular vaccinations is just one of the many reasons that we need GP's involved in Covid vaccinations as the whole population living throughout Australia is going to require ongoing access. ie Just as with the flu vaccinations, but as Covid is more deadly it really is a must have, rather than just good to have.

Exactly and thank goodness the storage conditions for Pfizer can be relaxed because there is now a possibility you may have to get a jab at week 1, 3 and as early as 26 for Pfizer and we will need as many places to get the repeat boosters; GP and Pharmacists both....
 
I would not trust my fumbling premier and especially not Dr Stephen Miles (Doctorate of Union Renewal) of establishing anything like the hubs that you espouse, given their propensity for failure so far.

Well that's Queensland, hubs look to be the way forward in NSW and Vic.

Again it’s been widely reported and posted on here many times as well that the new TGA study into Pfizer storage means the ultra low temperature storage is not necessary for an extended period which means GP’s are easily suitable for Pfizer and from all reports this weekend will be administering Pfizer as well which is great

That storage gives a coupe of days doesn't remotely compare to ability to store properly longer term as mass vac centres. NSW Gov made announcement for mass vac centre at Olympic Park because it understands that this is what younger people need and could see too much GP vaccine is sitting dispersed in clinics unused. And it is all over the media this morning how Vic is expanding access its vac centres (previously for front line workers only) to all eligible recipients, again a recognition GPs alone cant get this done at the pace that is needed.

pharmac_ numbers for flu shot were artificially high last year because workplaces were closed, and workplaces gave people pharmac_ vouchers instead of having Bupa etc come onsite to do the vaccinations. If your working age (and don't have a commonwealth health card) getting a flu shot at GP costs you money, in Sydney that usually means an out of pocket of close to $50 (virtually no bulk billing GPs in the CBD areas), whereas getting at work your employer picks up the tab for the nurse and $0 cost to you. I know many people who only get the flu shot because its free and convenient at office.

GP model is not going to work for most of 2A and 2B, we need mass vac centres open on weekends and workplace options. And GPs need to put on more staff to open extended hours (late weeknights and Saturday and Sundays exclusively for vaccinations). The reason many practices arent giving covid vaccine is the costs dont stack up to open at times needed by working age patients.

I'm not saying remove GP option, but we also need much better ones. If you make it too hard, and people dont bother especially given near non-existent covid risk and no incentives such as international travel on offer.

Be careful drawing generalised conclusions from anecdotal media reports is all I can say.

No need to rely on media, easy to verify yourself, just try to make an online appointment to see how much capacity there is. First week of vaccination my Dad rang nearest GP and was offered an appointment within an hour, didn't suit so rescheduled for a few days later, there was a lot of availability (and that was before the advice on AZ changed which freed up even more slots). All my friends have parents aged 70+, not a single one in NSW has had any problem getting a same day or next day appointment (and we are talking those in metro as well as in a country town). Then yesterday was chatting with a lady at café who is a medical receptionist who also said they are struggling to fill timeslots (except on Saturday mornings).

PS. Did you like my last graph that removed your assertion of bias and spin that showed Australia performing well against many countries?

Australia is ranked poorly wrt vaccines given per capita, as a wealthy country with universal health care we should be much higher. The first 2 months of our roll-out should also have been faster than some of the countries you are comparing to because we had the benefit of seeing what worked overseas (of course by going mainly GP route we didn't leverage best practice).

Charting the jab: More than 60 countries are vaccinating their people faster than Australia the above article indicates if we keep going at the pathetically slow pace we currently are it will be 2023 before all adults are fully vaccinated. This is unacceptable.

Short of a mass outbreak locally, there is nothing likely to take the stench of AZ for under 50s (and quite a few over 50s with concerns).
 
Exactly and thank goodness the storage conditions for Pfizer can be relaxed because there is now a possibility you may have to get a jab at week 1, 3 and as early as 26 for Pfizer and we will need as many places to get the repeat boosters; GP and Pharmacists both....

How much Pfizer may eventually go through GPs is as yet unknown. I suspect that as Pfizer doses become more available and categories 2 and below become eligible that Pfizer doses through GP's will be desirable. But for now in 1a and 1 b with Pfizer doses in short supply allocation through GPs will most likely be lmited.

However a multi pronged approached is required. Pharmacies will be added once supply increases. In Victoria (and given the large number of injections nationally I am sure other governments do too) the Government clearly views GP Clinics as an important cog in the vaccination program, and indeed in the immediate terms has sought ways to get more doses to the GP's.
Victoria will continue to work closely with the Commonwealth, health services and representatives of general practice on the national rollout. Victoria’s offer to the Commonwealth to reallocate the state’s AstraZeneca supply for the next fortnight to our hard-working GPs also still stands.




Quotes attributable to Minister for Health Martin Foley

“Our medical expert’s recommendations obviously impacted the national rollout, but here in Victoria, we’ve worked around the clock to find solutions to get vaccines in people’s arms as quickly and safely as possible.”

“By Wednesday, our health professionals will have everything they need to administer AstraZeneca to eligible Victorians of all ages, and they will continue to do so to the highest standards of safety and quality.”

“While this expansion provides more options for Victorians over the age of 70, it’s expected most people in this category will continue to receive it locally with their trusted GP – that's something we’re pleased to encourage.”



 
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South Australia seem to no longer be advising their daily vaccination rate.

They seem to have changed how they are reporting (ie is now Commonwealth +SAadministered and not just SA administered) and so perhaps it will just be a one day changeover.


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