WHO WILL RECEIVE COVID JAB FIRST IN FAR NORTH

THE Pfizer vaccine approved by the federal government will not be available from a Far Northern GP or pharmacy and most residents will not be receiving a jab.

North Queensland Primary Healthcare Network chairman Trent Twomey said the stage 1A jab was targeted at the most vulnerable populations in the Far North and would be administered in a process controlled by the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service at designated vaccination centres.

“It must be transported and stored at minus-70C,” he said.

“It will be imported and given to border control workers who run quarantine facilities, aged-care residents and the elderly over the age of 80 and their carers. It is not something you can book on an app and visit with your local GP or pharmacy to receive.”

It is expected that the stage 1A rollout will begin in midFebruary and the yet-to-beannounced stage 2 distribution will include Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders, over the age of 70 or with comorbidities, and frontline healthcare workers.

“This is about protecting life and achieving herd immunity in a stage way,” Mr Twomey said.

TGA approvals for the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, which will be manufactured in Victoria, had yet to be given, he said. “It will not be available until March at the earliest, but the domestic manufacturing has not ramped up yet,” he said.

Far Northern GPs and pharmacies have been bombarded with queries about the implications of a COVID vaccine.

“In an age of social media, there is a lot of misleading information out there,” he said.

“The average Australian can discern fact from fiction – they can trust their local GP or pharmacy rather than something someone posted on the dunny.”

The accelerated timeline for the vaccine rollout was due to cutting away red tape and did not affect the clinical phases, Mr Twomey said.

Meanwhile, Cairns GPs have been approached by the federal government to submit expressions of interest to help administer some of the 15 million doses of the stage 1B vaccine.

“Not all general practices will be involved, but more practices will be involved as the campaign moves to phase 2A where an additional 15 million doses will be administered,” and email from the AMA read.

The AMA understands that the vaccine will be bulk-billed, and can be administered by practice nurses.

“Practices will be provided with essential consumables such as syringes, and support will be made available to practices requiring additional resources such as personal protective equipment,” the email stated.

Queensland Health and the federal health department were asked for comment.