Australian Government COVID-19 Vaccine Strategy
HHMP has applied for a Phase 1b COVID vaccination clinic
The Australian Government is bringing forward the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine and GPs will play an important role in the vaccination process.
The full vaccine roadmap has been made public. The aim is to vaccinate the most at risk populations first and then progressively work through the rest of the community.
Phase 1a will occur in hospitals for the most at risk workers.
Phase 1b is the first time the COVID-19 vaccine will reach the general population. Please see the image on the left for a summary for a summary of the groups who are eligible under phase 1b. The government has allocated the AstraZeneca vaccine for general practices and will start with a small number of practices Australia wide, before increasing availability to more practices in later phases of the program.
The Federal Health Department recently requested general practices that are able to run vaccination clinics in the early stages (about March 2021) to apply via an expression of interest process. HHMP has put in an expression of interest to run a COVID-19 vaccination clinic from March 2021 until the end of the program. We feel that our experience and facilities (as thoroughly tested with much less information or government support during the 2020 flu season) make HHMP an excellent choice to provide such a service locally.
As a family practice we have a large number of elderly patients and those with chronic conditions that put them in the high risk group. We intended to bring the COVID-19 vaccine to these patients and other local patients who meet the criteria as soon as possible.
We expect to be using our recall systems, SMS messages, local advertising etc to advise patients about the availability of the vaccine and the best ways to make a booking. Especially important will be rebooking patients for their booster shot at the appropriate time. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation with this process.
If HHMP were to become a Phase 1b clinic we will also be contacting and aiming to cooperate with other local general practices who may not have the capacity to run their own clinics to help vaccinate their patients. So, if you are not a HHMP patient, please stay in touch with your usual local GP for more information as it becomes available.
We are also working to plan and organise for the flu vaccination season as well. The flu vaccine season will overlap with the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. The latest information is that the 2 vaccines should not be given together. The advice at the moment is to separate the 2 vaccines by 2 weeks. We will continue to advise patients as more information becomes available.
Instead of calling our reception, please check this blog or our COVID-19 page often for the latest and most accurate information.
