Tasmania prepares for the start of coronavirus vaccination program
Tasmanian health authorities have revealed when the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine will be administered, with new details about how the vaccine will be processed and stored.
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TASMANIA’S very first vaccination against coronavirus is less than a week away, with health authorities declaring the state is ready to deliver the mammoth program.
The first batch of the vaccine manufactured by Pfizer is expected to arrive in the state on Monday, with vaccinations due to start at a hub at the Royal Hobart Hospital the next day.
Quarantine and border workers, hotel quarantine staff, frontline health workers — including ambulance personnel, emergency department and intensive care unit hospital staff — and COVID-19 testing staff will get the jab first under phase 1A of the rollout.
They are being contacted this week to arrange a booking time — while the Commonwealth is responsible for vaccinating aged care residents and staff who also come under the first phase.
Health Department secretary Kathrine Morgan-Wicks said the first tray of vaccines would have 195 vials of the substance, with between five and six doses in each vial.
It will arrive by air and be delivered via truck to the hospital by transport distributor DHL, with dry ice and special packaging used to keep the vaccine at a temperature of about -70C.
It will then be stored in secure zones at the RHH’s pharmacy.
“We will be breaking that tray straight away, in terms of getting it ready so we can run the vaccination clinics from Tuesday,’’ Ms Morgan-Wicks said.
“We absolutely feel ready, and we’re very excited to actually start vaccinating.”
Ms Morgan-Wicks said staff at the hospital have been doing rehearsals in an attempt to best prepare for the vaccination procedure, with “dry runs” occurring.
This has involved moving a package of a similar size from the hospital’s loading dock to the secure zone at the pharmacy, to the vaccination clinics and then practising the process of bringing the vaccine to room temperature.
There are strict requirements on the processing of the vaccine, including how long they can be out of the tray and how long they can be handled before they are put into a fridge.
Spotters will be used to ensure that timing is met, and they are among a group of other staff including nurses and pharmacists dedicated to the vaccination effort at the hub, with hundreds to be engaged across the state in the vaccination of the wider population.
About 14,000 Tasmanians will be vaccinated between now and the end of April under phase 1A, which will also include vaccination hubs at the Launceston General Hospital and North West Regional Hospital which will be launched next month.
Health Minister Sarah Courtney said preparing for the vaccination effort was momentous, and that the state had never seen a program as large and complex rolled out so quickly.
“These vaccines are safe, they are free and we’re ensuring that as we roll them out, they are done so in a clinically appropriate way,’’ she said.
Ms Courtney said Primary Health Tasmania was identifying GPs across the state to take part in the vaccination effort among the wider population, including in regional areas.
She said the Federal Government was responsible for the training pathways for GPs who will take part and would work with PHT to make sure they are appropriately trained.
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