Your Family Doctors has been selected to participate in the government funded Covid-19 Vaccination rollout for Phase 1b. Due to limited supplies of the vaccine our practice will not be commencing vaccination until Week 4 of the program (mid April)
Phase 1b priority population groups include:
– People aged 70 years of age or older;
– Health care workers;
– Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults over 55yrs;
– Younger people with an underlying medical condition, including people with a disability; and
– Critical and high risk workers, including Australian Government officials about to be deployed overseas
You can check if you are eligible for the 1B rollout through the COVID-19 vaccine eligibility checker;
https://covid-vaccine.healthdirect.gov.au/eligibility
We are not taking booking until supplies are received so please don’t phone the surgery so we can keep the phone lines open for our patients needing to seek medical care.
At this stage we have only been allocated 40 – 50 vaccinations per week so it is going to be a slow process and patience will be required. Initially we will be contacting our patients over the age of 80 to make an appointment to receive the vaccine, followed by our 70 – 79 year old patients. There will be limited flexibility with these appointments as there will only be a few set Covid Vaccination clinics per week. Contact will be made via telephone or via sms. In Australia, we are placed in a fortunate position that there is limited community spread of COVID-19 which gives us the luxury of time in the COVID 19 vaccine roll out. However if you are eligible for Phase 1b and are eager to get your vaccination earlier than we can offer you there is the option of booking online into the Coast and Country Respiratory Clinic COVID 19 Vaccine clinic just up the road from our practice https://www.hotdoc.com.au/medical-centres/erina-NSW-2250/erina-respiratory-clinic/doctors
Please note
- The vaccination is free for patients with a valid medicare card, but is not compulsory
- Bring your medicare care and other form of ID to your appointment
- Your appointment is for consent and vaccination only. If you have any questions, concerns or hesitancy about the vaccination please book an appointment with your regular GP prior to your vaccine appointment.
- Common reactions to the COVID-19 vaccination include a sore arm, headache, lower level fever, muscle pain, chills, tiredness or joint pain. Most side effects are mild and don’t last for long.
- When we contact you to make an appointment please let us know if you have a past history of anaphylaxis or if you have any immunisation in the past 2 weeks (including the influenza vaccine)
- A consent form prior to vaccination will be sent to your via sms or available in hard copy at our practice to be completed prior to your appointment. Please arrive 15 minutes early to complete this form if you haven’t completed it online.
- At the appointment of your first dose, we will book you in for your second dose (and for your influenza vaccine if you wish)
- Please do not attend our practice for vaccination if you are experiencing a sore throat , cough, fever, shortness of breath or runny nose.
- For the safety of patients and staff we ask that you please wear a face mask.
For more information on how you can prepare for your Covid-19 Vaccine …….