South Western Sydney PHN is a not-for-profit health organisation dedicated to supporting general practitioners, practice nurses and other primary health providers.
These people got the jab to get protected and to get back to seeing their friends and family, work and school, travel, and all the things they love to do.
We are proud of how fast COVID-19 vaccination rates have climbed in South Western Sydney and need to keep up our great effort, including booster shots now they are available.
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COVID-19 booster shots are available to anyone aged 18 and over who had the second dose of their primary course six months or more ago.
Booster shots will be free for anyone in Australia.
Booster shots will be Pfizer
Pfizer is recommended by ATAGI as a COVID-19 booster dose. You can have the Pfizer vaccine as a booster dose regardless of which vaccine you had for your first two doses. You can also receive the AstraZeneca vaccine if you:
can’t have the Pfizer vaccine for medical reasons
had two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine previously.
COVID-19 booster eligibility
You are eligible for a COVID-19 booster if:
you are 18 years and older, and
have had your second dose of your primary dose course of COVID-19 vaccination at least six months ago.
No booster shot for under 18 year olds
Booster doses are not currently recommended for people aged <18 years. In this age group, severe COVID-19 is uncommon, and the primary course of COVID-19 vaccines generates a strong immune response, so the benefit from additional doses of vaccine is likely to be small. In addition, there are currently only very limited data on the safety of repeated Pfizer vaccine doses in this age group.
Recommendations for severely immunocompromised people
In severely immunocompromised individuals who have recently been recommended to receive a third dose of a primary COVID-19 vaccine, three booster doses (i.e. fourth doses) are not yet recommended. Further information on booster doses in this group will be provided soon.
NSW Health has amended its Public Health (COVID-19 Self-Isolation) order for people who have been medically cleared from COVID-19. Since September, anyone who has recovered from COVID-19 has been exempt from vaccination and testing for six months and did not need to self-isolate if they were a close contact. The amendment reduces the exemption relating to testing and vaccination, from six months to six weeks. Anyone who was medically cleared between 22 September and 21 October can continue to rely on the six-month exemption. The close contact isolation exemption period of six months, following medical clearance, remains in place for all medically cleared patients.
27 October 2021
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has provisionally approved a booster dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for individuals 18 years and older. The provisional approval means individuals aged 18 years and older may receive a booster (third dose) at least six months after the completion of a COVID-19 vaccine primary series. While the TGA has made its decision, boosters are not available just yet. The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) will provide further advice about who should receive boosters and when, to the Australian Government shortly. Read the TGA’s full statement
26 October 2021
NSW Health has provided updated advice for Local Health Districts and Speciality Health Networks.
Surgical masks should be worn by all staff who work across any NSW Health campus which provides healthcare services
A P2/N95 respirator is required when providing direct care for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 and close contacts of a COVID-19 case as determined by public health
Mask-wearing is no longer required in discrete corporate offices and non-healthcare settings which are not part of a healthcare campus
All other precautions are to remain in place including distancing
Screening criteria for visitors to NSW Health locations streamlined to three core questions related to QR code check-in, vaccination status and symptom checking. Download the screening criteria
South Western Sydney patients are no longer exempt from the “existing relationship requirement” for MBS telehealth services after the region was taken off the Commonwealth-declared hotspot list on Monday, 18 October.
The temporary MBS telehealth items put in place to reduce the risk of community transmission of COVID-19 and provide protection for patients and healthcare providers, will continue to be available until 31 December 2021.
Under current requirements, GPs can only perform a telehealth or telephone service where they have an established clinical relationship with the patient.
There are limited exemptions to this requirement, including:
the patient is in COVID-19 isolation because of a State or Territory public health order
the patient is in COVID-19 quarantine because of a State or Territory public health order
the patient is located in a Commonwealth-declared COVID-19 hotspot
This means that people who are not in isolation or quarantine, and are in a location which is no longer a Commonwealth-declared hotspot, are no longer be regarded as in a COVID-19 impacted area for the purposes of being exempt from the existing relationship requirement.
The MBS items for people in COVID-19 hotspots which are no longer in effect in South Western Sydney are 92746 and 92747.
What is COVID-19 isolation?
A person with COVID-19 or suspected to have it must enter mandatory isolation.
What is COVID-19 quarantine?
When a person is well but may have been in contact with someone with COVID-19, they are required to isolate from other people to prevent the spread of the virus. The quarantine period is 14 days from when they may have been in contact with the virus.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) has recommended a third primary dose of COVID-19 vaccine for severely immunocompromised populations.
Assessment of suitability for these third doses are eligible for MBS reimbursement with the same rules as suitability assessments for second doses. The same second dose MBS items should be used, including when a GP performs a suitability assessment for a patient and determines they are not suitable for a third vaccination dose.
In-depth patient assessments items 10660/10661 may also be claimed (eligible once per patient’s lifetime) if all other eligibility requirements are met.
The additional PIP payment is not claimable for a third dose. It remains payable only when the first and second vaccine doses are administered under the same general practice.
Please note: MBS items 93644, 93645, 93646, 93647, 93653, 93654, 93655 and 93656 are available to assess patients’ suitability for a third dose in severely immunocompromised populations to address suboptimal or non-response to the standard two-dose schedule.
with high levels of vaccination across the workforce, the ‘unvaccinated or partially vaccinated’ matrix is for use in the rare instance that a worker in this category needs to be risk assessed for a COVID-19 exposure.
with the lifting of the Stay at Home Order, vaccinated close contacts of community cases of COVID-19 will be required to undertake only seven days of isolation, followed by a further seven-day period during which they must not attend high risk settings, including healthcare settings.
15 October 2021
South Western Sydney is celebrating an historic milestone with more than 70 per cent of its eligible population now fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
NSW Health, general practices and pharmacies have worked together to provide more than 1.3 million vaccinations across the region since the start of the Federal Government’s national vaccination rollout in February.
South Western Sydney Local Health District Chief Executive Amanda Larkin said the 70 per cent double dose milestone was a fantastic effort and a tribute to the community.
“More than 90 per cent of the eligible population in the seven South Western Sydney Local Government Areas have now received their first dose of the vaccine – an incredible result,’’ Ms Larkin said.
“Thank you to everyone who has come forward to be vaccinated to protect themselves and their loved ones – this milestone could not have been achieved without you.
“Our staff, GPs and pharmacies have been doing a wonderful job to provide the vaccine to the community and I am so proud of their outstanding work.
“I hope everyone enjoys the new freedoms from today but please continue to stay COVID-safe.’’
South Western Sydney Primary Health Network Chief Executive Officer, Dr Keith McDonald PhD, said the region’s residents could feel proud so many had come forward to get vaccinated to keep the community safe.
“Our general practices, NSW Health and pharmacies have been on the frontlines since the beginning of the pandemic, providing us all with great care and support,’’ he said.
“When we needed them most at the end of June this year, our frontline vaccination workers rallied, helping with the smooth and swift rollout of vaccinations across our region.
“Our GPs, practice nurses and support staff have so far administered 739,818 doses of vaccine to South Western Sydney residents – what an outstanding effort.
“We are continuing to actively work with practices to further ramp up their vaccinating capacity and have engaged some to also provide in-reach clinics and home visits to some of the most vulnerable people in our communities who otherwise have difficulty accessing usual services.”
Please visit the Vaccine Clinic Finder for the most appropriate vaccination option for you.
Other statistics of interest
As of Friday, 8 October 2021:
South Western Sydney Local Health District has administered more than 514,000 doses of the vaccine in south western Sydney and across its outreach in NSW.
858,116 of first doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in South Western Sydney.
689,946 of second doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in South Western Sydney.
15 October 2021
With the first vaccination milestone of 70 per cent double-dose reached, on Monday, 11 October the NSW Government began easing a number of restrictions which allow fully vaccinated adults to enjoy more freedoms.
This includes:
10 visitors (not counting children 12 and under) are allowed to a home (previously five); cap lifted on outdoor gatherings to 30 people (previously 20); cap increased for weddings and funerals to 100 people (previously 50)
Indoor pools are open for swimming lessons, squad training, lap swimming, and rehab activities
The Reopening NSW roadmap is available in various languages including: English, Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Serbian, Thai, Punjabi, Greek and Italian.
