Shock list: 400 GPs unable to provide 2020 flu vaccine to elderly, medically vulnerable
Hundreds of medical practices are without access to the 2020 flu vaccine after doctors revealed there was a “critical shortage” in distribution numbers from NSW Health. SEE THE EXCLUSIVE SUBURB BREAKDOWN HERE.
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A shocking number of doctors have revealed they have no access to the 2020 flu vaccine as the medically vulnerable fear the shortfall is a “matter of life and death”.
NewsLocal has obtained a list of 400 GPs and medical centres in hundreds of suburbs across the state that have declared they have no access to vaccines for infants between six months and five years, people aged over 65 years, the medically vulnerable or non-government funded injections for healthy patients.
SEE THE SUBURB BY SUBURB BREAKDOWN OF PRACTITIONERS HERE
The revelations come after Charlestown resident, Vickee Bertoli, blew the whistle to state Labor MP Jodie Harrison.
Ms Bertoli said she was placed on a waiting list for the vital shot for more than five weeks.
“It is concerning me as it is now starting to head into colder temperatures and the lock down laws are beginning to relax,” Ms Bertoli said. “I have been asking my friends if they have had their flu shots and every single one of them have said they are on waiting lists with their doctor and been advised that they don’t know when the next shipment will arrive.
“We were advised to get them, especially in our age group, but can’t because they are not available.”
Former Australian Medical Association NSW president Dr Kean-Seng Lim said practices including his own were running “critically low on vaccines” due to a lack of resupply from the State Government.
Dr Lim said the State Government messaging for flu vaccines was issued too early, meaning people were forced onto waitlists at doctor’s surgeries before the initial stock had been delivered.
THE GREAT DIVIDE TEN-PART SERIES: WESTERN SYDNEY’S HEALTH CRISIS
“This year has seen a greater stress on the system because of the increased demand for vaccination because of the COVID-19 crisis,” Dr Lim said.
“But in response to this we need certainty of resupply in vaccine stocks.”
He said some practices over-order vaccines because of the known lack of resupply available across the health network.
“In our practice, we work out the exact number we need for the whole system and what we can administer every week but we are still experiencing a critical shortage in stock.”
A Health Protection NSW representative said all people over 65 years were eligible for free enhanced influenza vaccine, revealing the State Government distributed over 2.8 million doses since March 30.
“NSW Health has ordered enough vaccine for all people aged 65 years and over,” the representative said.
The representative said guidance and tools were in place to ensure appropriate amounts of vaccine were ordered for their patients, but “there were no restrictions on the amount of vaccine GPs could order”.
A NSW Health spokeswoman said the government has distributed more than 1.3 million doses of the vaccine for people aged 65 and over: “which is enough to vaccinate 110 per cent of this age cohort”.
Shadow Health spokesman Ryan Park hit out at the NSW Government over the lack of vaccines for vulnerable patients.
“Because there aren’t any restrictions on how many vaccines can be ordered, some practices have wound up with way more than they need – while many others have been short changed,” He told NewsLocal.
“The Berejiklian Government said there was enough to go around, but because they just blindly sent them out, some older people in NSW will have a harder time staying safe this flu season.”
A spokeswoman for Health Minister Brad Hazzard said he had no responsibility for general practitioners. Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt was also contacted for comment.
Just 44 cases of influenza have been recorded by general practitioners in the past month, a drop of 94 percent in the same period over the past five years.
SEE A NSW GOVERNMENT LIST OF ALL GPs WITH FLU VACCINES AVAILABLE HERE