COVID-19 Gold Coast: Healthcare worker in Gold Coast University Hospital suffers vaccine allergic reaction, staff ‘well prepared’
A healthcare worker has recovered after an anaphylactic reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine. It’s the first reaction after more than 5000 successful doses.
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Gold Coast Health say allergic reaction – anaphylaxis – is an expected side effect of the COVID-19 vaccine and they are well prepared for it.
The GC Health statement comes after a healthcare worker with a history of anaphylaxis suffered an allergic reaction to the vaccine on Thursday.
Gold Coast Health told the Bulletin: “Anaphylaxis has been identified as a possible side effect from any vaccination.
“Staff are well prepared for this and stringent processes are in place to manage such reactions.
“After receiving the vaccine, recipients are observed for 15 minutes or 30 minutes if they have identified a history of anaphylaxis in the screening process.
“The response was prompt and effective and the patient received the appropriate treatment and has since recovered.”
A total 5409 people had been vaccinated as of Thursday morning. This is the first reported severe reaction since the rollout began last month.
Anyone who has had a severe allergic reaction to anything, including after receiving a vaccine, can still get the COVID-19 vaccine but must alert healthcare workers beforehand.
It’s understood the person suffered an anaphylactic reaction.
LAST MONTH:
GOLD Coast Health’s COVID-19 Pfizer vaccination rollout is going faster than expected, with 1543 frontline workers jabbed last week at the Gold Coast University Hospital. It included 401 jabs on Friday.
A spokeswoman said an increased number were vaccinated thanks to detailed planning, streamlined processes and strong staff enthusiasm to get it.
“The ease and pace at which they’ve received their jab has ensured they could get back to their day-to-day work with minimal disruption,” she said.
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It’s believed there has been no reports of unexpected side-effects following vaccination.
Doctors, nurses, allied health and support staff from the emergency department, ICU, pathology, X-ray and radiology have been vaccinated. Flight crew and airport baggage handlers, maritime services staff and scientific staff involved in handling the virus had also had the Pfizer vaccine.
Meanwhile, medical practices across the Gold Coast are expected to soon start administering the AstraZeneca vaccine that arrived in Australia on February 28.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said the vaccine would be batch tested by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, with it likely to be released by March 8, if not earlier.
GREEN LIGHT FOR COAST GPS TO GIVE ASTRAZENECA VACCINE
GOLD Coasters will soon be able to access the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine after the health department gave the majority of the city’s medical centres and practices approval to administer it.
Gold Coast Primary Health Network’s Dr Roger Halliwell said most practices were given the nod to be a part of the roll out, but which practices would be first and when was still to be decided.
“At this stage it’s not known which medical centres will be the first cab off the ranks,” he said.
“But it’s expected that practices will find out next week whether they’ll be one of the first that will get the gig.”
It’s thought that people will book online, but for those who don’t have computers such as the elderly, there will be another form of assistance offered.
“When it does ramp up it will be for priority 1b only,” he said.
“Some people may prefer to wait for their GP to administer the vaccine.”
Mr Halliwell said almost all of the city’s 150 or so practices put in an expression of interest, with only a handful told they did not qualify. However, health authorities are working with the practices to get them compliant.
“The process is moving forward but slowly. We’ll know which practice is eligible to give it next week sometime,” he said.
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In a letter to practices from the Department of Health, it said: “Rolling out the COVID-19 vaccine is one of the greatest logistic challenges in the nation’s history”.
“The groups receiving the vaccine in Phase 1b include older people and people with certain
underlying conditions. No one is better placed to provide access to the vaccine to those patients than their own GPs.
“To facilitate this, all eligible general practices will be provided the opportunity to participate in the rollout. The program will enable rapid scale up, based on readiness, ability to reach priority populations and geographical coverage.
“Practices will continue to be on-boarded within weeks of commencement to build a broad national footprint. The number of sites included in each tranche, as well as the expected throughput for each practice, will be dependent upon vaccine availability.”
Medical on Miami director Health McLellan-Johnson said her practice had been given approval to vaccinate Gold Coasters against coronavirus, with the COVID testing clinic Burleigh Cove Respiratory Clinic expected to get the green light soon.
Ms Heather McLellan-Johnson said she was preparing to administer nearly 4000 vaccinations a week once given the nod to go ahead.
“We are all already, we have just been waiting for the green light to go ahead,” she said.
“Physically we will be administering in groups of five as the vial needs to be separated into five doses.
“After the vaccine there needs to be 10 to 15 minutes of patient monitoring, but essentially a group can be in and out in 15 minutes.”
Following Phase 1b of the vaccine rollout, the AstraZeneca vaccine will be available initially to people aged over 70, high-risk workers such as Defence Force personnel and police, and the disabled and vulnerable.
Ms McLellan-Johnson said she expected there would be an initial rush to vaccinate and then it would stabilise, as they had seen with testing.
“If everything goes to plan, and there are no delays with manufacturing and getting the vaccine, we hope to expect to see everyone vaccinated on the Gold Coast by May next year.”
To assist with efficiency of the rollout, McLellan-Johnson advised locals wait until their age group wa called for vaccination.
“There is no point calling earlier, and potentially clogging the phone lines. Just wait until it is publicised that your group is officially approved for the vaccine.”
While waiting for the call to be vaccinated, or until you get the second jab, it’s important to remain vigilant about the COVID-19 symptoms and practice good hygiene, social distancing and testing if necessary.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is administered in two doses, with the second, and final, dose 90 days after the first. Children under 16 are not currently approved for the vaccine.
CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER ‘LOST FOR WORDS’ AS COVID VACCINE ROLLS OUT
THE Gold Coast University Hospital (GCUH) was under the spotlight on Monday morning as staff administered the first COVID-19 vaccination in Queensland to Palm Beach frontline worker Zoe Park.
A nurse in the COVID ward, Ms Park said there were still positive cases coming into the hospital, “we see them every day”.
“I’ve seen families torn apart from it (the virus). It’s really scary for healthcare workers to be going home and potentially exposing their family to the virus, so this is very exciting,” she said, after receiving the Pfizer jab.
“It’s a very exciting time for all healthcare workers in Queensland. And it didn’t hurt at all … I hardly felt it. The flu shot hurt a lot more.”
Owen Hortz, the Gold Coast police inspector responsible for the city’s hotel quarantine facilities, was also one of the first six Queenslanders to get the jab, alongside two other staff from the COVID ward, a nurse from quarantine hotel and team leader in environmental services.
About 180 quarantine staff, frontline workers and those most risk of contracting the virus attended the hospital’s vaccination hub on Monday, with 1000 people expected to be vaccinated by the end of this week.
It’s understand that the majority of Gold Coast Health staff will roll up their sleeves, and that of the 10,677 workers who responded to a vaccination question, 9438 (88 per cent) signalled their intention to have the jab.
Queensland Health told staff they had a “critical role” in the success of the vaccination program and mentioned an “ambassador campaign” they could be involved in during the coming weeks.
The state’s chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young said Ms Park’s jab was a “historic moment” in the fight against the pandemic.
“One down, four million minus one to go,” she said.
“We need every single adult Queenslander 18 and older to get vaccinated as quickly as we can. The first target is the most crucial. The 37,000 who work in our hotels and on the front line.”
“I desperately, desperately hoped this would be where we’d be, but I didn’t think we’d reach it, so today is just absolutely fantastic, just over a year to be vaccinating the first person is … I’m lost for words, and I’m not often lost for words.”
She said she was hopeful the state could “rapidly ramp up” to 10,000 vaccinations each week, after the Commonwealth Government gave Queensland eight of the first 10 trays of the vaccine to be used for frontline workers. The rest is being used to vaccinate aged care and disability resident and workers across 41 sites in the state.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said it had been 391 days since Queensland had its first case at GCUH, and that two new cases were detected overnight in hotel quarantine.
“That is why our first vaccination priority group is those working in the frontline. Our borders and hotel quarantine workers and those here at our hospitals working in the COVID wards managing patients with COVID,” Ms D’Ath said.
“To keep five million Queenslanders safe, we need you to get vaccinated.”
Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service Infectious Diseases Director Dr John Gerrard said there had been 230 positive patients on the Gold Coast since the start of the pandemic.
“We’ve how been planning to deliver this vaccine since October,” he said.
“I woke up this morning at 3am with goosebumps, this is probably the most exciting day of my professional career.”
He expects the GCUH hub will vaccinate 1000 people this week and 2000 next “all things going well”.
Ms D’Ath, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk are expected to get their jab during stage 1b.
Princess Alexandra and Cairns Hospitals are expected to come online as Pfizer vaccination locations on Wednesday and Friday this week.
In the coming months, the AstraZeneca vaccine will be distributed to Queensland by the Australian Government.
This will allow for a much broader distribution of vaccine, and more locations will come online, including more hospitals, GPs and pharmacies.
More information on the vaccine is available at qld.gov.au/covid19vaccine
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A frontline nurse who works in the COVID-19 ward was the first person to receive the first Pfizer vaccine at the Gold Coast University Hospital vaccination hub on Monday morning.
Just after 8am, registered nurse Zoe Park received the state’s first COVID-19 jab from clinical nurse consultant Kellie Kenway.
She was one of more than 100 frontline heroes lined up to receive the jab on Monday.
Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath and chief health officer Jeannette Young were at the hub for the historical rollout of the vaccine for frontline health workers, police and hotel quarantine staff.
Ms D’Ath said 180 people would be vaccinated on the Gold Coast on Monday.
She said she would not be getting a shot herself this week, but that she, the chief health officer and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will get their jab next week.
chief health officer Jeannette Young said she “desperately” wanted to get to this point, but didn’t think she would.
Director of Infectious Diseases and Immunology at Gold Coast University Hospital Dr John Gerard said he “woke up with 3am with goosebumps”
“It’s the most exciting day of my career”
It came as two more COVID cases were reported in Queensland today, both in hotel quarantine acquired overseas.
Ms D’Ath said: “We need you to get vaccinated”.
WHEN MASS VACCINATION CENTRES WILL OPEN ON COAST
MASS vaccination centres are expected to be operational across the Gold Coast by mid-March, with local health authorities waiting on approvals from Queensland Health.
It’s believed there’ll be several venues throughout the city, with Gold Coasters able to book online, and priority given to those who are older or have health conditions.
It comes as the highly anticipated Pfizer vaccine rollout starts at Gold Coast University Hospital (GCUH) on Monday morning, with 100 doses expected to be administered to Queensland frontline medics, hotel quarantine staff and border workers.
It’s believed a local nurse will be the first person to get the jab, with the state’s chief health officer Jeannette Young also expected to roll up her sleeve.
Dr Young said the state would receive 10,000 doses this week, with more expected each week for at least four weeks. After that things are expected to ramp up as the AstraZeneca vaccine was put into the mix.
Gold Coast Health’s executive director of integrated and ambulatory cares services, Paula Duffy, has led the authority’s COVID-19 response for the past year and had worked on setting up the hospital’s vaccination hub since October.
“It’s really important that we vaccinate people as quickly as we can,” said Ms Duffy, who is in-line to receive the vaccination today.
“We’re starting off with 300 people a day, but we aim to increase this number as time goes on.”
Open from 7.30am-5.30pm for the first week, it’s expected the vaccination hub will extend its hours next week to 9pm so shift workers such as police and night staff can attend.
Ms Duffy said the health service was also “well into” planning for mass vaccination centres, with venues to be away from the hospital but in areas that have good access to public transport facilities.
“We’ve got a couple of different options and we’re ready to go as soon as the health department says we can go ahead,” she said.
“And we’ll do exactly that same thing as we did with the simulations we did for the vaccination hub to make sure the flow is right at the venues.
“We’ll be doing that once the venue is defined from the beginning of March and we’re likely to be ready to go by mid-March, that’s the time frame we’re looking at.
“The Prime Minister said everyone will be vaccinated by October and I think this is doable because we now have the other vaccine, the AstraZeneca one, approved.”
Ms Duffy said the GCUH still had “at least one or two” COVID-positive patients in the hospital every week from hotel quarantine, with their length of stay varying depending on their symptoms.
“We know that from the infectious diseases people that it’s (the virus) is not going away anytime soon, but I’m confident with the systems and processes we’ve got in place,” she said.
“And I can tell you now that the way our hotels are going it would be highly unlikely to have any issues (like Melbourne) because we’ve got really strong protocols in place with the police and ADF.
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“I’ve got consistency of staff, I don’t move staff around and most are happy staying there … we do a fantastic job in hotels.”
For the vaccination sceptics, Ms Duffy said the Pfizer was a “very clean” vaccine with “very few components” so any negative reactions “very unlikely”. However, just in case, a recovery and emergency room had been built into the vaccination hub.
“We don’t anticipate any problems, but maybe a bit of a sore arm the next day,” she said.
‘This vaccine is one of the most effective vaccines we’ve ever seen, and by everyone taking up this opportunity we’ll be able to continue to keep the Gold Coast community safe.”
COVID-19 vaccine arrives on Gold Coast ready for rollout
THE highly anticipated Pfizer vaccine has arrived at the Gold Coast University Hospital and is being kept in a 24-hour temperature alarmed system under lock and key.
Arriving at Brisbane Airport on Sunday morning, it was rushed to the Gold Coast in a temperature controlled vehicle to ensure the vaccine was kept between -60C to -70C.
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Once it was removed from the transportable freezer, health staff had five minutes to decant it and store it in a special freezer at the new vaccination hub recently set up at the hospital.
The Gold Coast is one of the first vaccination hubs to be operational in Queensland, with an estimated 100 frontline health workers, quarantine staff and border workers expected to roll up their sleeves on Monday morning.
Gold Coast Health advanced pharmacist Rachael Raleigh is one of just three people who currently have access to the freezer where the vaccine is stored.
Ms Raleigh said each time she accessed the freezer she had three minutes to take it out and get what she needed otherwise the “cold chain” would be breached.
“This is unlike any medication we use normally, time frames are never this tight generally,” she said.
The freezer in which the vaccine is store has a 700-litre capacity and has a temperature range of -50C to -86C — this is as cold as it gets in Antarctica.
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