Baw Baw among first to roll-out Phase 1b vaccinations

Five medical services in Baw Baw Shire are among the first to offer COVID-19 vaccinations under the Phase 1b roll-out that began yesterday.

They are Warragul Respiratory Clinic, which has provided COVID testing for almost a year, and four general practices – Warragul’s Victoria Street and Gladstone Street medical clinics, Bank Place Medical Centre at Drouin and Trafalgar Medical.

More participating GPs will be progressively announced over the next few weeks.

The eagerness of people eligible to get vaccinated under Phase 1b has had the telephones running hot at the five local clinics announced last Wednesday as among the first to offer the injections.

They all have appealed for people to be patient when trying to book appointments.

While the first supplies of vaccines were due over the past few days the clinics were limiting or not confirming appointments until they were sure how many doses they would initially have available.

Doctors and registered immunisers such as practice nurses have undergone a three-hour training module on providing the vaccinations.

Those eligible to receive vaccinations under the Phase 1b roll-out that began yesterday are people aged 70 years or older; health workers not included in Phase 1a; high risk workers in police, defence, fire and emergency services and meat processing; Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders, adults with a specified medical condition and those with a disability and a specified underlying medical condition.

Residents of state owned and operated aged care facilities in the shire, Andrews House in Trafalgar and Cooinda Lodge at Warragul, were in the highest category for vaccinations, receiving the injections just over a week ago.

Gippsland Primary Health Network says more general practices will join the vaccination program over the next several weeks but stated not all in the region had responded to the Federal government’s call for expressions of interest.

Aboriginal controlled health services are also involved in the initial Phase 1b distribution of the vaccine, but there is no such service in Baw Baw Shire.

GPHN chief executive officer Amanda Proposch said it was important for everybody to understand the phased approach was a response to the supply and availability of the COVID vaccine.

The more vulnerable people in the community were the higher priorities.

Ms Proposch said more vaccine would become available as production increased in Australia.

About six million Australians, almost one quarter of the population, are eligible to be vaccinated under the current stage of the roll-out.

The 1000 general practices nation-wide that started delivering Phase 1b yesterday will increase to some 4500 in coming weeks.