Revealed: How Grafton is dealing with COVID vaccine changes

Find out how one vaccination clinic said has happened since government changed course over safety concerns

Ochre Health GP Dr Chris Taylor receiving the Covid Vaccination from nurse Mary-Anne Cole.

A local GP clinic has said despite recent warnings over the risks of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 virus, there has not been many cancellations among eligible patients, and demand is outstripping available vaccination appointments.

Practice Manager for Ochre Health Grafton Carol Pachos said that the practice is recommending the current government guidance in that the AstraZeneca vaccines are suitable for adults over the age of 50 who meet the eligibility criteria.

“For eligible people between the ages of 18 and 50 who feel the benefit of getting the vaccine outweighs the risk of not having it, we recommend you discuss your individual circumstances with your doctor,” she said.

“Our advice is no different and falls in line with Government advice that vaccines are safe and effective.”

Ms Pachos said they were stilling vaccinating people under the age 50 who met the current eligibility requirements.”

“We follow Government guidelines which in a Pandemic do change from time to time,” Ms Pachos said.

Each patient aged under 50 discusses the benefits and risks with a GP before receiving the vaccine.

Ms Pachos said At the moment under the Phase 1b rollout people eligible for vaccination have been cited by the government as the most vulnerable and include:

• People over 70
• ATSI’s over 55
• People aged over 18 with a chronic disease

“Although there are other people eligible under the 1b Rollout such as Health Care and Frontline service employees the majority of people requesting vaccination at this practice are from the 3 categories listed,” she said.

“We have not had many cancellations at all in our Covid vaccination clinics and any cancellations are quickly filled by people seeking vaccination appointments.”

Ms Pachos said that at the clinic, vaccines had arrived weekly and always have matched what they had ordered.

She said it was important for patients receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine in their Covid clinics to make sure that after their 1st vaccination we have their 2nd dose appointment booked in before they leave. The second dose of the vaccine is recommended at 12 weeks after the first dose.

It was important for people to leave 14 days between their COVID vaccination and any flu vaccination.

As at April 22, more than 1.8m doses of the vaccine had been given in Australia.

The current advice from the national cabinet is that national cabinet has agreed that, in line with the advice of Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, the Pfizer vaccine will be prioritised for people under 50 years of age across all phases. The AstraZeneca vaccine will be prioritised for people aged 50 years and over.