Schools, pharmacies join six-week vaccination blitz
Community pharmacies have joined the state’s vaccine rollout but concerns have been raised over the restrictions on who can attend for a vaccination.
Coronavirus
Don't miss out on the headlines from Coronavirus. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Tassie businesses hit hard by Covid to share in $20 million
- Analysis: When we think we’ll be free of Covid-19
PHARMACISTS in Tasmanian have begun administering AstraZeneca vaccines, but say age restrictions relating to who they can vaccinate need to be changed in case of an outbreak.
The rollout to the state’s community pharmacies was brought forward from August 16, with the first pharmacy starting vaccinations on Thursday.
Information on participating pharmacies is not currently listed on the state government’s coronavirus website and those wanting the information need to navigate through the federal government’s national eligibility finder.
During an update on Friday, Premier Peter Gutwein said 11 pharmacies are currently offering jabs.
A Department of Health spokesman said by the end of next week 46 will be involved.
Pharmacies are currently administering only the AstraZeneca vaccine to those aged over 60.
As of Friday, 61,766 Tasmanians aged over 60 were fully vaccinated and 116,394 had received their first dose.
A health department spokesman said an estimated 31,500 people aged over 60 were unvaccinated.
Pharmacy Guild of Australia Tasmania branch president Helen O’Byrne said most pharmacies had an online booking system and individual pharmacies could opt to also allow walk-ins.
“We have that capacity with flu vaccinations and now that rate has dropped because people are vaccinated, we do have that capacity in the workforce to take walk-ins,” Ms O’Byrne said.
She said guidelines that had restricted the initial rollout in Tasmania to pharmacies in selected postcodes with low vaccination rates were no longer in place, but under the guidelines they were still only able to vaccinate those aged over 60.
“What we were hoping was the age restriction would be lowered because if there is an outbreak in Tasmania, the risk profile of the AstraZeneca on the ATAGI (Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation) advice changes,” she said.
Ms O’Byrne said 103 Tasmanian pharmacies had positive expressions of interest with the federal government.
ATAGI recommends in the context of a Covid-19 outbreak where the supply of Pfizer is constrained, adults younger than 60 who do not have immediate access to Pfizer should reassess the benefits to them and their contacts from being vaccinated with AstraZeneca, against the rare risk of a serious side effect.
“The Tasmanian Vaccination Emergency Operations Centre continues to work with the Australian government to onboard community pharmacies that have expressed interest and that have met the training requirements for an authorised immunisation service,” a Department of Health spokesman said.
Ms O’Byrne said pharmacies had an important role to play in making vaccines accessible.
“The overseas experience in the UK and US shows that pharmacists really have a role to play in the rollout,” she said.
The state government is aiming to have more than 63 per cent of Tasmanians vaccinated with their first dose by September 12.
Taxi driver praises riders for check ins
HOBART taxi driver Greg Kapodistrias is confident Tasmanians will do right by each other and use the mandatory check-in system each taxi and Uber is now required to have.
As of 6pm on Friday, all Ubers and taxis in Tasmania are required to have a QR code check-in system to assist with contract tracing should a Covid-19 case emerge in the state.
Mr Kapodistrias has had a QR code in his taxi for about three weeks already and said a high number of passengers had been using the service.
“People have been taking it up and checking in without even being prompted,” he said.
“People are very cognisant to the fact that you have got to do it and even the older demographic who are less technologically advanced have been great at checking in.”
The new requirement is a part of the government’s 4-point Delta Shield Plan to ensure the state is as prepared as possible for a potential Covid case.
As part of the plan, the government is pushing a six-week vaccination blitz in an attempt to get as many Tasmanians vaccinated as possible.
On Friday it was announced that schools, pharmacies, and clinics would be joining the vaccination blitz.
From August 23, high schools, colleges and other training facilities will be administering the jab to 16- to 18-year-olds, with Elizabeth College in Hobart being the first to sign onto the scheme.
Parental permission will be mandatory, meaning teenagers will not be able to get a jab if their parents or guardians are opposed to it.
School rollout plans for the North and North-West are still being formalised, with the government due to release more information in the coming weeks.
From Friday, 11 pharmacies across the state were administering jabs, with 46 other pharmacies expected to be offering the service in the coming days.
A full list of the participating and soon-to-be-participating pharmacies can be found on the Tasmanian government website.
Premier Peter Gutwein said it is expected that Pfizer will be made available for 16- to 29-year-olds from mid-September.
“Our aim is to have more than 63 per cent of our eligible population having had a first dose by mid-December,” Mr Gutwein said.
“We’re leading all states and territories, so thank you Tasmanians.”
Mr Gutwein said the state’s border would remain closed for at least the next two to four weeks, with the borders to NSW remaining shut for the foreseeable future.
The 11 previously Covid-affected Queensland local government areas will also remain off limits for the coming days, however, Mr Gutwein said the situation would be reviewed on Monday.
Director of Public Health Mark Veitch said the border would also remain closed to Cairns as an extra precaution, even though the city is no longer in lockdown.
“The national situation remains quite volatile,” Dr Veitch said.
“The cautious and safe measure for the time being is to keep in place the restrictions on movement.”
Schools, pharmacies join six-week vax blitz
Schools, pharmacies, and clinics will be joining the vaccination blitz, as Tasmania ramps up its inoculation efforts amid a flurry of lockdowns over the pond.
Later this month, high schools, colleges, and other training facilities will be administering the jab to 16 to 18-year-olds, with Elizabeth College in Hobart being the first to sign onto the scheme.
Parental permission will be mandatory, meaning that teenagers will not be able to get a jab if their parents or guardians are opposed to it.
School rollout plans for the North and North-West of Tasmania are still being formalised, with the government due to release more information in the coming weeks.
From today, pharmacies will be administering jabs across the state. Eleven pharmacies will be providing jabs, with 46 pharmacies joining over the next several weeks.
A full list of the participating and soon-to-be-participating pharmacies can be found on the Tasmanian government website.
Premier Peter Gutwein said they expected to make Pfizer available for 16 to 29-year-olds from mid-September.
“Our aim is to have more than 63 per cent of our eligible population having had a first dose by mid-December,” Mr Gutwein said.
“We’re leading all states and territories, so thank you Tasmanians.”
Premier Gutwein said the state border would remain closed for the next two to four weeks at least, with the borders to NSW remaining shut for the foreseeable future.
The 11 previously Covid-affected Queensland local government areas will also remain off limits for the coming days, however Mr Gutwein said they would review the situation come Monday.
Director of public health Mark Veitch said they would also remain closed off to Cairns as an extra precaution, even though the city is no longer in lockdown.
“The national situation remains quite volatile,” Dr Veitch said.
“The cautious and safe measure for the time being is to keep in place the restrictions on movement.”
Health secretary Kathrine Morgan-Wicks said adult men were lagging behind their female counterparts by seven per cent when it came to vaccination rates.
She said more men needed to come forward to get the jab if they were to reach their goal of getting 63 per cent of eligible people their first jab by mid-December.
“I want to particularly encourage men to follow the example of famous Australian cricket captain Tim Paine and get vaccinated. We do need men to come forward,” Ms Morgan-Wicks said.
“Please get an appointment if you have not done so already. Don’t wait, secure your booking now. The best way to safeguard yourself, your community, and your loved ones is to vaccinate.”
Calls for blitz on Tasmanians ignoring check-in rules
NO fines have been issued so far in Tasmania to members of the public for failing to check in with the contract tracing app or businesses not displaying the required check-in QR codes.
There have been 22 million check-ins using the Check in TAS and there are now more than 500,000 check-ins each weekday.
Winston Hotel owner Kris Miles said they introduced a maitre d’ style system to make the check in process easier for staff and customers.
“It gives people a bit more of an experience, makes everyone feel a little bit calmer about the whole thing,” Mr Miles said.
He said it was an easy way to monitor numbers as restrictions on capacity changed.
The number of premises that were required to have the check in QR codes expanded on July 31 to include shopping centres, schools and retailers such as supermarkets.
In Tasmania over 32,000 venues have registered for QR codes.
Rules that had only required people to check in if they were at venue for more than 15 minutes were recently tightened.
Everyone aged 16 years or older is required to check in, regardless of the length of their visit.
Tasmanians catching taxis or ride share services such as Uber will be required to check in using the Check in Tas app from Friday, with public transport expected to follow shortly.
Department of Health Secretary Kathrine Morgan-Wicks said penalties apply for failing to comply, for both operators and people entering the relevant locations.
“Those not complying can be issued with an infringement notice of $778.50 for individuals and $5,146.75 for corporations,” she said.
“We are pleased that making people and businesses aware of their legal obligations has been sufficient to date and that authorities have not deemed it necessary to issue fines yet.”
Tasmanian Small Business Council Chief Executive Officer Robert Mallett said despite no fines being issued there were still people who weren’t checking in at places such as supermarkets.
“It’s disappointing that there appears to be a number of people who walk straight into the business without considering checking in, by now it should be second nature, if not first nature for all of us by now, nearly every single business requires customers to check in.”
He said it was important Tasmanians continued to work together to keep each other safe and didn’t become complacent.
“It’s only relatively early with the new rules, but come September or October it would nice to see some fines being issued for those not complying so others get the message,” he said.
Compliance with mandatory check-in requirements is monitored by Public Health and Tasmania Police.
WorkSafe Inspectors have conducted 4222 workplace inspections since the original COVID-19 Safe Workplaces Framework was introduced and has issued 67 improvement notices in that time.
The improvement notices are issued if a business does not have a Covid Safe Plan or does not collect contact tracing information when it is required to do so.
Long Covid: Tassie’s hidden epidemic
Covid lockdowns may be a distant memory for many, but for Tasmanians living with the often-debilitating symptoms of long Covid, the pandemic has left a lasting impact.
Experts push for double shot as new Covid wave looms
As deaths from Covid continue, Tasmanians are being urged to get boosters and flu shots with doctors saying infection rates are “taking off and complacency is setting in”. LATEST FIGURES >>