Frustrations boil over as anti-vaxxer staff at Gold Coast University Hospital refuse to get vaccinated
Anti-vaxxer staff at Gold Coast University Hospital are threatening to derail Queensland Health orders that all workers must get the COVID jab. FIND OUT WHY >>>
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ANTI-vaxxer staff at Gold Coast University Hospital (GCUH) are refusing to get the Covid-19 jab, causing friction with vaccinated colleagues who fear they’re putting the lives of the sick and vulnerable at risk.
Their hesitancy threatens to derail Queensland Health orders that all staff at GCUH must be vaccinated after a 19-year-old unvaccinated clerk at a Brisbane hospital contracted and spread the highly contagious Delta strain.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said the state’s five hospitals where Covid patients are treated, including GCUH, will be asked why authorities shouldn’t expand the mandatory vaccination group to be the entire hospital staff.
She said health workers across the country were not mandated to get the jab, and called for a broader definition of Phase 1A workers, to include laundry, kitchen and pathology staff.
It comes as frontline health workers at GCUH struggle to secure the Pfizer vaccine for their at-risk family members and Queensland recorded four new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday, two of which were local cases.
One Gold Coast Health staffer, who’s had the jab, is getting increasingly frustrated at the increasing number of “anti-vaxxer” workers refusing to get the vaccine, saying some were calling it an “experimental drug”.
Other staff are avoiding the jab worried it might affect their fertility or chance of falling pregnant.
“These are apparently educated people who should know better, but are still gathering information from social media and conspiracy theory news sources on Facebook,” the concerned staffer said.
“When you work with sick and vulnerable people, it needs to be less about ‘me’ and more about ‘we’.
“We can’t be putting others in the community at risk and something needs to be done to address this, but aside from making it mandatory I’m not sure how you’ll convince some people.
“There’s plenty of myths the government needs to educate people on.”Meanwhile, despite there being no supply issues of Pfizer at GCUH, many frontline workers at the hospital say they’re finding it “impossible” to get the vaccine for their husbands, wives and children.
One emergency department worker, who has been trying unsuccessfully for days to secure an appointment, said it would “relive stress” if her family was vaccinated.
A Gold Coast Health (GCH) spokeswoman said staff had “embraced” the vaccination program with 9000 fully vaccinated, representing 80 per cent of the total workforce.
She said the vaccine was not currently mandatory for GCH staff unless they worked on the Covid-19 ward and every staff member who worked in it was fully vaccinated. Strict protocols ensure only vaccinated and authorised staff could enter.
“We are also prioritising the vaccination of household contacts of our employees, particularly the close household contacts of staff who have a higher risk of having contact with Covid-positive patients, in line with the Covid-19 rollout.
“All staff members wishing to be vaccinated have had the opportunity to do so, either while on shift or in their own time if preferred.”
She said the process for vaccinating staff and their close household contacts had been regularly communicated to staff through their line manager, staff forums and emails.
Gold Coast Covid vaccine: Where to get tested and vaccines
July 1, 2021
More Gold Coast clinics offering the sought-after Pfizer vaccine are on the way.
The Bulletin can reveal from July 19 that 26 Gold Coast GP clinics will start offering the Pfizer vaccine, with the Federal’s Gold Coast Primary Health Network CEO Matthew Carrodus saying they’ll come online in “three waves”.
“It’s important for the vaccination program that GPs receive the Pfizer vaccine as they will provide the majority of the vaccine for the community in the future,” he said
Mr Carrodus indicated the Gold Coast would receive enough Pfizer vaccine supply for city GPs to join Gold Coast Health administering the jab.
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Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said there were no supply issues with the Pfizer vaccine, saying there were more than 55,000 doses due to be delivered each week, something which will increase to 95,000 next week and up to 127,000 by the end of July.
The Burleigh Cove Respiratory Clinic, that offers the AstraZeneca vaccine, is booked for vaccinations until July 12.
Medical group director Heather McLellan-Johnson said it was open until 9pm on Wednesday and Covid testing was “huge” on Wednesday.
“We probably had four times what we normally see.”
The Upper Coomera Respiratory Clinic is currently the only GP clinics to receive and administer doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccination. It gets 900 doses a week.
Gold Coast Health has ramped up vaccinations, doing 752 at GCUH and 479 at its Albert Waterways Vaccination Centre in Broadbeach on Tuesday.
Residents wanting to know if eligible for a vaccine should visit covid-vaccine.healthdirect.gov.au/eligibility.
Gold Coasters urged to 'be patient' as vaccine concerns grow
June 30, 2021
ANXIOUS Gold Coasters unable to book their second dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine have been asked to be "patient" by Queensland Health.
It comes as dozens of residents make “frantic” searches for their second dose, fears grow the state will run out of Pfizer doses and the city’s four respiratory clinics groan under the weight of demand for vaccinations, with one booked out until July 12.
A Reedy Creek mother-of-three, who did not want to be named, said she’d spent six days trying to book her second dose of Pfizer online, over the phone and by clicking a link she was given by staff at Gold Coast University Hospital.
“My husband had his first shot four days before mine and a week after got an email confirming his second appointment, all I got was a link to click to find one,” said the 41-year-old.
“I’ve been frantic for the past few days, extending my search by up to 100km just to find one but there’s none available. My next move is to turn up to one of the Pfizer hubs and just wait in line until they give me my second dose.”
A letter to the woman from Queensland Health dated June 28 asked her to “please be patient” saying it knew “there has been an increase in demand for appointments in the past few weeks”.
For a full list of testing locations, including private and drive through clinics visit qld.gov.au/health/conditions/health-alerts/coronavirus-covid-19/stay-informed
It outlined the window in which she could receive her second dose, this was 21-42 days from the first one.
“The second dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine can be administered 28-90 days from your first vaccination,” said the letter.
“Completing your vaccine course is very important, even if your second dose is outside the recommended window.”
A Gold Coast spokeswoman said it was aware some residents were “approaching the recommended timeframe to receive their second dose and have concerns about not being able to book a second dose appointment”.
“Most will have booked their second dose appointment during their first dose appointment. For those who haven’t, we will be in contact shortly with your second dose appointments.
“People waiting for their second dose appointment should watch for a Queensland Health email.
“The second dose does not need to be given at exactly 21 days after the first dose.
The second dose of the Covid-19 Pfizer vaccine is recommended to be administered as close to the 21 to 42 day window after your first vaccination.
“We are thrilled with the enthusiastic response of Gold Coasters to fill vaccination appointments. Our clinics are working through these appointments and to avoid disappointment we recommend you only attend a Gold Coast Health vaccination clinic with an appointment.”
She said bookings would not be immediate and the health service appreciated residents “patience” as it continues working through the vaccine rollout.
“There will be increased capacity over coming weeks through the establishment of additional vaccination locations. This will provide more opportunities for Queenslanders to receive their first and second doses.”
Pfizer walk-ins are being discouraged at Gold Coast University Hospital and the Albert Waterways vaccination centres, with priority given to people who’ve booked online.
Gold Coast Health has ramped up vaccinations, doing 752 at GCUH and 479 at its Albert Waterways Vaccination Centre in Broadbeach on Tuesday.
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