Carry on Covid-19 jabbing: GPs do lion’s share

In just one week, GPs around Australia administered 120,000 vaccinations, one quarter as many jabs as state and federal governments combined had given in more than a month.

Next Practice GP Sean Stevens gives the COVID-19 vaccine to frontline healthcare worker Elle Lockayne, 22, at his surgery in Perth’s East Victoria Park. Picture: Colin Murty

In just one week, GPs around Australia administered 120,000 vaccinations, one quarter as many jabs as state and federal governments combined had given in more than a month. In the past 24 hours, doctors and general practice nurses administered 33,000 vaccines.

That was even as vaccine supply was severely limited. But now that CSL supply of AstraZeneca is available, the number of vaccinations given by GPs will rise exponentially — and at the peak of the rollout, the GP network has the potential to deliver well over a ­million doses a week.

About 1600 practices are so far inoculating patients in GP surgeries. That will rise to more than 4500 in the coming weeks.

The rollout has not been without its hiccups, with GP surgeries inundated with inquiries in the initial days of the rollout as people scrambled to book appointments.

Some practices that had invested in big fridges and hired new staff were disappointed when their ­initial vaccine supplies were very small. But the number of delivered jabs is ramping up and many GPs are now booked weeks in advance.

Next Practice GP and owner Sean Stevens said when his Perth clinic began to administer the jabs it was inundated with inquiries.

“When we first opened our phone line it was jammed for hours, despite encouraging most people to book online,” he said.

With one GP, two nurses and three administrative staff, multi-clinic Next Practice has been vaccinating as many as 250 people per day and averaging 800 per week in its respiratory-led clinic.

As the federal government steps into its next phase of the vaccine rollout and regular general practices begin to offer the jab, Dr Stevens expects to vaccinate more than 1000 people a week.

“Last year in Western Australia, general practice was able to vaccinate 110,000 people per week with the influenza vaccine. We’re confident we can do similar numbers with COVID,” he said.

“General practice is ready, willing and able to roll out this vaccine. We just need timely communication from the government and on-time delivery of vaccines.

“All we’re asking from the government is regular timely communication and absolutely on-time delivery.”

Dr Stevens, who is also chair of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, said many country practices could be well equipped to deliver tens of thousands of doses each month.

“There are practices that could vaccinate 2000 a week or more. Larger practices could do as many as several thousand,” he said.

Royal Australian College of GPs president Karen Price said she was “incredibly proud” of GPs’ roll in the national vaccine effort.

“General practices in every corner of the country have rolled up their sleeves to vaccinate Australians,” Dr Price said.

“This is no surprise because it is what we do. Most Australians go to their GP for their other vaccinations and many will do the same for their COVID-19 vaccine.

“It has been well acknowledged how magnificently general practice has responded so far and how efficiently our work is done.

“For any practices who experienced a difficult start to the vaccine rollout, my message is please don’t be discouraged.

“Your hard work will not go unnoticed and you are a vital part of this rollout.”