More than 4,600 general practices – including almost 200 general practices in South Western Sydney – received their COVID-19 vaccine Onboarding Packs last week after being approved to participate in the Phase 1b vaccine rollout.
Over four weeks beginning the week of 22 March, all general practices who were deemed initially eligible to participate will be progressively included in the rollout.
This Onboarding Pack is intended to provide clear guidance on the operational and functional arrangements in place for the Australian COVID-19 Vaccine Roll-out Program.
As part of their Onboarding Pack, eligible general practices will have received a letter notifying them of which week they are scheduled to commence vaccinating and how many doses per week they will be allocated.
The allocations may be reviewed as vaccine availability increases and data on utilisation and demand across the system becomes available.
General practices will be supported by GP respiratory clinics – at Fairfield, Campbelltown, Picton and Mittagong – and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services who will also be providing vaccines in Phase 1b.
Please see below the 12-week Primary Care Vaccination Plan
COVID-19 vaccination training
In order to administer vaccines, each health professional involved in the administration of COVID-19 vaccines is required to:
- be authorised to administer vaccinations in their relevant state and territory;
- have completed all necessary immunisation training/qualifications; and
- have completed the COVID-19 Vaccination Training Program, including the AstraZeneca module
Phase 1b Eligibility
Priority groups have been identified using public health, medical and epidemiological evidence, including expert advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI). This includes people that would be at higher risk of serious illness if they contracted COVID-19, and those most likely to be exposed to it.
Practices should only book patients who meet the eligibility for each phase of the rollout.
Phase 1b priority population groups include:
- people 70 years of age or older;
- healthcare workers;
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults over 55 years;
- Younger people with an underlying medical condition, including people with a disability; and
- critical and high risk workers, including Australian Government officials about to be deployed overseas on official government business.
ATAGI has developed guidance documents to assist vaccine providers to make clinical decisions on who should receive the vaccine.
Booking vaccination appointments
The COVID-19 Vaccination Information and Booking Service is based on the existing National Health Services Directory (NHSD), operated by Healthdirect Australia on behalf of the Department of Health. It will provide ‘one front door’ where people can check their eligibility and find out where to get a COVID-19 vaccine, with links to clinics offering vaccine appointments. All approved COVID-19 vaccination clinics must be listed on the NHSD to ensure timely and transparent access for consumers, and should accept bookings from all eligible people.
Practices who are not participating in the Phase 1b rollout
General practices which are not providing COVID-19 vaccinations should refer their patients to healthdirect to find their nearest vaccination site and to book their appointment.
Australian Immunisation Register
It is mandatory under the Australian Immunisation Register Act 2015 to report all COVID-vaccine encounters to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR). COVID-19 vaccine encounters should be uploaded into AIR at the time of administration (including the patient’s individual Medicare reference number), or as soon as possible, to ensure consumer immunisation information is up to date.
To find:
- Information for COVID-19 vaccination providers, including consent information and reporting suspected side effects associated with a COVID-19 vaccine.
- Vaccine Eligibility Checker