Covid Gold Coast: Push to slash coronavirus restrictions as Omicron cases rise
The Gold Coast’s Mayor is urging the state further relax Covid’s isolation restrictions, saying it is playing havoc with staffing and travel goodwill. He says the government must “let us live with it”.
Gold Coast
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The Gold Coast’s Mayor is urging the state further relax Covid’s isolation restrictions, saying it is playing havoc with staffing and travel goodwill.
Mayor Tom Tate urged the Palaszczuk Government to ditch restrictive quarantine periods sparked by close contact with Covid cases and “let us live with it”.
But conversely the city medical fraternity is on high alert after Queensland Health reduced quarantine rules for close contacts.
In the latest developments:
* The government reduced the 14-day quarantine rule for (vaccinated) close contacts of Covid patients to seven days;
* It now kicks in from Wednesday instead of January 1;
* It refused to back down on needing travellers to have a negative PCR test within 72 hours of entering the state despite significant delays in southern states throwing Christmas plans into chaos;
* Giant lines were seen at testing locations, with some sitting in cars for two hours-plus.
A fed-up Mr Tate called for an end to “constantly changing” Covid regulations and warned it would continue to put traveller goodwill at risk.
“The overwhelming conversation I hear is given the vast majority of Queenslanders are vaccinated, we have to effectively let Covid in – and live with it,” he said. “With that in mind, the state has to be careful to ensure constantly changing Covid restrictions and regulations don’t unduly impact on employees, employers and the wider community.
“Isolating dozens of police and standing down hundreds of hospitality staff over potential close-contact cases places a huge burden on our hardworking officers and small business staff. I strongly encourage the Premier to continue to relax the rules as we race towards 90 per cent double vaccination.
“Otherwise, millions who’ve done the right thing and had double jabs, plus booster jabs, will rightly start asking: what was the point?”
Chief health officer Dr John Gerrard said reducing the 14-day quarantine rule for close contacts brought Queensland in line with others states and the national plan. It came after close contacts at the weekend forced 60 police plus hospitality staff at popular venue Burleigh Pavilion to quarantine.
Queensland Airports CEO Chris Mills said he was conscious of the “balancing act” government had to perform in managing the outbreak.
“As we move ahead we will see further restrictions easing and given the border has only been open a week, people are naturally a bit cautious.
“We would hope further easing of restrictions will see those numbers grow even more quickly. Hopefully we’re not too far away from a time when it’ll be simple and easy to travel to the Gold Coast.”
Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce president Martin Hall welcomed easing rules but cautioned against immediately winding back all clamps: “We need to follow the restrictions and it will be a while before we live with it entirely but businesses are trying.
“This is a step in the right direction but we need to let common sense rule the day.”
Gold Coast Primary Health Network’s Dr Lisa Beecham said at a meeting on Tuesday she was told if numbers doubled every two days, there’d be 7000 Queensland cases by the end January.
“The hospitals in NSW are getting overwhelmed, let’s not have that happen (here). If you’re directed to isolate, please do it to keep everyone safe,” she said. “I apologise holidays are disrupted but we need to follow health advice.
“My sister can’t come from the US as we’ve not hit 90 per cent, so we can’t scatter our mum’s ashes. We know this is hard for everyone, which is why mental health help is available at the Gold Coast Primary Health Care website.”
Dr Beecham said even those who were four and half months since their second jab could get a booster at a respiratory clinic, GPs, Broadbeach vaccination hub, pop-up clinics and pharmacies.
“This Christmas we must do things differently, schedule lunch outdoors if you can, wear marks around vulnerable people and socially distance,” she said.
Gold Coast General Practice board chair Dr Kat McLean said there needed to be a multi-layer approach to the Covid response and quarantine was one of them.
“We have a rapidly evolving situation with escalating case numbers. We need multiple layers to our response – quarantine is one of them.”
GPs going broke during ‘critical’ booster jab rollout
Overworked GPs are threatening to cull their Covid immunisation programs, saying inadequate federal government funding is sending them broke and failing to cover costs of the booster jab.
Gold Coast respiratory clinics and medical practices have gone from tossing out vaccines to scrambling for vials to meet skyrocketing demand for the booster shot as the highly contagious Omicron variant rapidly spreads.
One doctor, who did not want to be named, said while Queensland Health was paying $20,000 an hour for 200 staff at pop-up vaccination clinics, GPs received $65 for two doses and $24 for the third (booster) dose.
“The funding has never been adequate, and most of us are making a loss and only doing it for the goodwill of the community,” said the GP.
“It’s a 10-page consent form, 15-minute wait and then we have to deliver the vaccine. There’s no money in it, we’re not even breaking even, we’re making a loss but we’re caught between a pillar and a post. So many practices across the Gold Coast will shut.”
The Australian Medical Association fears the booster program is falling behind, with president Dr Omar Khorshid saying GPs and pharmacists were not being properly supported to implement the “critical rollout”.
He said the focus was now on primary care to do the heavy lifting in the rollout of the booster program as states wound back vaccination hubs and returned to the normal delivery of health services.
“The Commonwealth has cut vaccination funding for GPs delivering boosters. This is making it very difficult for GPs to run clinics at the volume and scale required, including running extra vaccination clinics or extra sessions. Unless primary care is supported, the booster program will fall further behind.”
Gold Coast General Practice board chairwoman Dr Kat McLean said GP clinics were small businesses and there was no funding to cover the costs of the admin time spent fielding large volumes of calls for bookings or to support the community with answering questions about the vaccination program.
“Every time there is a political announcement or change there is a domino effect that impacts significantly on our clinic teams. Covid immunisations also divert GPs and nurses away from other core practice tasks. Locally, I am aware of GPs and clinics who are considering pulling out of the immunisation program completely.”
Dr Sonu Haikerwal, owner of private-billing practice Haan Health and head of the Upper Coomera Respiratory Clinic, said it was tough to have conversations about money during a pandemic.
“But we’re getting totally slammed by all the extra work, with no extra support,” she said. “The funding model for GPs is ridiculously low and arguably we’ve been some of the hardest workers during the pandemic.”
Dr Haikerwal said the respiratory clinic had gone from 20 vaccines a day to 200 as government messaging influenced decisions on the third booster Covid jab.
“We’ve gone from throwing vaccines out to not having enough, but that’s just typical or this rollout, it’s just ridiculous,” she said. “I’ve had to contact colleagues and borrow some of their supplies. This week we’ll be vaccinating about 300-400 people every day, mostly with the booster but some first doses because the virus is spreading.”
A spokeswoman for the federal government’s department of health said there was a range of rebates available depending on whether the service was provided by GP or other medical practitioner, in a metropolitan or regional area, or in business hours or outside business hours. “Items are split between fist dose items and second/subsequent dose items,” she said.
“The second/subsequent dose items are used to provide booster doses. This rebate structure was developed in consultation with peak stakeholders, including the Australian Medical Association and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.”
“As has been the case throughout the vaccine rollout, the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) rebates for a first-dose vaccine suitability assessment service provided to patient are higher than the rebate for a second or subsequent dose service, including booster doses.”
She said the difference recognised that GPs, other medical practitioners working in a general practice setting, and suitably qualified health professionals providing vaccine suitability assessments on behalf of a medical practitioner, may need to spend more time obtaining the consent of a patient, their parent or carer, and providing information about the vaccine before delivering the first dose.
“For example, the fee for a first-dose vaccine suitability assessment provided to a patient by GP in a metropolitan area in business hours is $31.05,” she said.
“The fee for a second or subsequent dose vaccine suitability assessment, including booster doses, is $24.45 for a GP in a metropolitan area in business hours.
“In addition, if a patient receives both their first and second dose vaccine suitability assessment at the same practice, a Practice Incentive Program (PIP) payment of $10 is also available.”
The spokeswoman said additional rebates are available for in depth assessments if patients or their parents/carers require more information about the safety and effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccines.
“These items are used when additional assessment and advice is required, including in relation to the patient’s individual risks and benefits associated with receiving a vaccine. This item can only be claimed once per patient and must be claimed in addition to a vaccine suitability assessment item,” she said.
Consistent with the Government’s commitment that no Australian will have to pay for a COVID-19 vaccination, it is a requirement that all services provided using the MBS Covid-19 vaccine suitability assessment items and in-depth patient assessment items be bulk billed.
“The Department of Health is continuing to monitor the use and suitability of the MBS vaccine items and engage with peak stakeholders as the vaccination rollout progresses,” she said
The department also investigates all tip-offs reported to them and is actively monitoring the claiming of the Covid vaccine administration items and practices or practitioners who bill patients inappropriately may be subject to compliance action.
BOOSTER SHOT EXPLAINED
THE booster dose of the Covid vaccine provides added protection for people who completed their two-dose primary course more than five months ago.
It is recommended because over time health experts say immunity can drop to as low as about 65 per cent. After a third dose it is back to 95 per cent efficacy.
Third doses are for severely immunocompromised people as part of a third-dose primary course and are suggested between two to six months.
However, you are still considered fully vaccinated by law if you had two doses of a Covid vaccine, even if the second dose was more than five months ago.
Anyone 18 and over is eligible, but it’s considered important for people at greater risk of getting very sick from Covid. This includes those aged 50 and older, people with underlying medical conditions and those in aged care and disability accommodation.
It’s also suggested for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and those at greater risk of Covid because of their work, such as healthcare workers, police and airline staff.
To book a booster dose, you can visit any respiratory clinic, GP clinic, pharmacy of state-run clinic that offers Covid vaccines. You do not need to return to where you got your primary dose. To find out the date of your second dose, check your digital Covid certificate or immunisation history statement.
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are recommended boosters, regardless of which vaccine you had originally. Common, mild side effects following a booster dose are similar to the side effects following the first two doses.
Queensland Health says serious side effects, such as myocarditis and pericarditis, following a Pfizer or Moderna booster dose are rare.
Booster details will be automatically uploaded to immunisation history statements, with certificates updated to show the final two doses.
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