VACCINES FOR THE ELDERLY
MORE THAN 2,500 DOSES OF VACCINE TO BE GIVEN OVER COMING WEEKS FROM NEW ROSS PRACTICE
THE rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine for elderly people within our community begins this Wednesday at the area’s biggest practice.
North Gate Medical Centre is receiving thousands of vaccines today (Tuesday) as the nationwide rollout of Covid-19 vaccinations gets under way.
Dr Mark Walsh said North Gate Medical Centre patients will receive first and second doses from the Pfizer-BioNTech, after an interval of four weeks.
‘Other practices in the area will receive COVID-19 vaccines on different days, and these practices will be in touch with their patients to make arrangements,’ Dr Walsh said.
In line with HSE protocol, those over 85 years old will be the first cohort to receive the vaccine. North Gate Medical Centre is currently contacting relevant patients individually to make appointments for their vaccination, there is no need for patients to phone the practice.
Due to the fragility of the Pfizer-BioNTech and the numbers of patients (more than 1,500 patients over 70 years old) involved, the vaccination process poses significant logistical challenges for the North Gate Medical Centre team.
‘It is imperative that patients follow our instructions because of the short time frame in which the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine must be used.
All patients who are aged 85 and older will be contacted by the practice and a definite time for their vaccination will be arranged. It will be essential for patients to adhere to this exact time to facilitate efficient flow of patients through the vaccination process. We ask people not to enter the practice car park prior to their allocated time.’
The vaccination process (registration, consent, vaccination and observation) will take 25 minutes per patient, including the mandatory period of 15 minutes observation after being vaccinated, before the patient can leave. Patients are asked to bring a pen with them, to wear short sleeves or a loose-fitting top to facilitate injection in the upper arm just below the shoulder and to bring their own wheelchair or walking aid if relevant.
North Gate Medical Centre’s car park will be manned and used as a waiting area for patients booked for the vaccine. Patients will be met at the at practice front door by a staff member and accompanied through the vaccination process. Carers and family members will have to wait outside in the car park to allow for ‘social distancing’ during vaccination.
The first group of people to receive the vaccine will be those over the age of 85 years. The vaccination programme will roll out every second week to the following age groups: 80-84-year-olds (322 patients); 75-79-year-olds (444 patients); 70-74-year-olds (566 patients)
The National Cold Chain Delivery Service will deliver an allocation of Covid-19 vaccines to General Practitioners every two weeks until all the local population over 70 years have been vaccinated.
General Practitioners are authorised to administer the vaccine only to patients over 70 years old.
‘North Gate Practice will only receive an allocation of vaccines for patients in this age bracket and will not be vaccinating patients outside this age group. There is no discretion to include patients outside this age group who may feel that they are more vulnerable due to their health statue. This decision to strictly adhere to an age limit has been decided at national level by Government. Due to the fragility of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine it must be administered at designated vaccine centres and patients who are unable to attend, due to infirmity, can be assured that the HSE has committed to arrange vaccination for them.’
Dr. Walsh said: “The Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant Level 5 restrictions are having a profound effect on all of us. Vaccination against this virus offers us much hope and encouragement as we strive to return towards ‘normal living’. The first people to be vaccinated will be the elderly. For many of them a visit to the practice for their vaccination will be their first outing from home in almost a year and I want to reassure patients that their safety is our priority. We will be administering the vaccine in line with HSE guidelines, adhering to social distancing, wearing face masks and hand-hygiene.’
‘ To help us to achieve our goal to maximise the administration of this vaccine in an efficient manner to as many of our elderly population as possible, we ask people to arrive at their appointed time and to wear appropriate clothing to facilitate vaccination. I would like to remind patients that full protection from COVID-19 requires two injections four weeks apart.’
He said: ‘We all have a responsibility to ensure that this precious commodity, the Covid-19 vaccine, is used efficiently. Ideally everyone should be vaccinated in a short a time frame, so it is important to attend vaccination appointments. Getting back to normal life is what everybody wants, the Covid-19 vaccine is another giant step on this journey.’