COAST MEDICAL GROUP TO RUN ASIA VACCINE ROLLOUT

THE Gold Coast is in line to be a nerve centre for rolling out COVID-19 vaccines in southeast Asia after Medical Rescue partnered with a US group for a mass vaccination solution.

AMI Expeditionary Healthcare has been on the frontline of the fight against COVID-19 as the sole contractor to state health departments in the US for emergency services. It has set up numerous testing sites and recently established a drivethrough vaccination site in Media, Pennsylvania.

Its contract with Gold Coast specialist service provider Medical Rescue, which works in some of the most remote and difficult locations in the world, is for a multibillion-dollar vaccine administration program in the Asia Pacific, reaching hundreds of millions and with a planned rollout in early 2021.

Medical Rescue managing director Dr Glenn McKay hailed the agreement as a significant step in the rollout of the vaccine in southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.

“Rolling out a mass vaccination program such as this is extremely complex, and we have been working closely with our US colleagues at AMI to assess and develop the difficult cold-chain logistics, robust vaccine tracking and data reporting systems and various distribution models that will be required,” Dr McKay (pictured) said.

“The partnership with AMI, one of the US’s most successful expeditionary medical companies, is a significant step forward in the application of the rigour required to deliver a COVID solution of such size in the Asia Pacific.”

Dr McKay said one of the vaccines has to be stored at minus-70C, which gives an indication of the difficulty in establishing supply chains for vaccines.

He said AMI brought the “subject matter expertise”, while Medical Rescue’s role would be providing personnel and clinical oversight, coordination and training.

Medical Rescue has 180 staff across Australia but would be looking to recruit a large number of staff here and overseas for the rollout. “This project would see our Gold Coast operations centre significantly expand,” Dr McKay said.