The COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Australia has begun

[lovetravellingoz]

I had my 2 AZ jabs at GPs I did not go to at all. Booked online without using my title.Did not have to have a separate consultation. And it was more convenient.

Yes my wife booked us both in online at a practice I had never been before (my regular GP was not yet approved).

All very quick as easy. I parked the car within 20m of the vaccination marquee.

Vaccination was done at exactly at the booked time with no waiting. Just scan in, verify the details on arrival, and then again with the nurse doing the vaccinations. And the second jabs were just the same.

If the pharmac_ 600m from my house had of been vaccinating back then as it is now I would have gone there instead.

If a hub had of been more convenient, or I could have gotten into quicker, I would have considered it, but as most had queues and more complicated and/or distant parking, or you had to get public transport to get to them they were not. So the overall vaccination time from leave home to return home was much greater and more complicated at hubs for us.

But yes I understand that the hubs were good for some, and that is the good thing about having alternatives. What is best varies for each individual . As in for example having walk-in rather than fixed appointments suits some.

Some I know who had first jabs at hubs, switched to GPs or Pharmacists when they became more available to book into. Convenience being the main driver.

Others with health concerns/issues preferred the GP with consult route, even if they had to wait. But with most I know they went through whichever channel that they could get vaccinated at first.

 

[jakeseven7]

Basically they had to build new infrastructure and train nurses and staff. Not their fault BTW, it was never going to be quick if you had to build a hub from scratch. Whereas the GPs are already setup having being the place to get Vaxxed for all sorts of things - just needed training.

Of course… I was comparing to other state hubs that got off the ground faster not V established primary care clinics

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Ah there you go again flipping what was said. The good luck was that there was greater hub access in Victoria than anywhere else, which is why hub doses were so much higher.

The original Commonwealth plan was that they were meant to deliver 75% of doses and the state channel only 25%.

Due the failure of the Commonwealth they never got near opening up enough Primary Care capacity until October.

Due that failure the Vic Gov kept opening up more and more capacity.

Luck had nothing to do with the ratios. It was ineptness by the Feds and good management by Vic to open up more capacity than the plan called for.

Also the only state with the privilege of being able to get Moderna via 2 channels instead only one everywhere else.

Victorian State Run Hubs had greater access to doses than any other state's state run hubs = advantage. The other states had to use GPs more because thats where the feds sent the doses.

Again this was due to the failure of the Federal Government in not opening up the Pharmacists early enough. The Feds in September agreed to make up for the Pfizer Primary Care doses that it had re-directed to Sydney by mainly allocating additional Moderna in late September (announced o 12 Sept).

But then having allocated those Moderna doses it did not have the approved and opened Pharmacists to inject them. More ineptness to provide supply to their channel when they did not have the actual operating capacity to inject the doses.

As a short term temporary measure the Vic State Channel took over the injection of some of that additional Moderna allocation simply because the Feds could not do it in a timely manner. This was only done at selected sites, including school/church pop-ups, in LGAs of concern.

As it is, those doses took up to 3 weeks longer to get injected than they should have.

There is nothing good about getting vaccinations in late Sept/first half of October that should have been injected into arms back in August.

The lack of approved GP channels in some of Vic is completely different issue, which has zero baring on the advantagous supply the state hubs were given.

Rubbish. The Primary Care Channel was meant to include sufficient Pharmacists and the Feds did not have sufficient Pharmacies operating till mid -October.

If the Feds had not agreed to let the Vic Gov to temporarily vaccinate in the LGA's of concern using that Moderna it would have sat unused in storage.

 

[Lynda2475]

Is still an advantage not afforded to NSW (or any state other than Victoria), having Moderna in hubs and a greater share of state Pfizer allocation to hubs would of been of huge benefit especially in NSW.

Not having sufficient pharmacists and GPs ready to go in Vic despite claiming they are the experts at vaccine delivery simply exposes the flawed logic of putting the bulk on the load on those channels, and how key state hubs are to where we are now. Victoria had the exact same lead time as every other state to have those channels ready.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Not having sufficient pharmacists and GPs ready to go in Vic despite claiming they are the experts at vaccine delivery

You overstate things.

What they (GPs and Pharmacists) claimed which was 100% accurate was that they were competent and capable to be Covid 19 Vaccinators. Indeed many of the pharmac_ Chains in Vic are the exact same chains as in other states that were approved earlier.

simply exposes the flawed logic of putting the bulk on the load on those channels, and how key state hubs are to where we are now.

It was not that they could not vaccinate, it was that they were not approved to vaccinate.

Or in the case of many GP's that were approved early on, that their allocated doses were tiny.

Victoria had the exact same lead time as every other state to have those channels ready.

Yes it did which is zero as the Primary Care Channel is a Commonwealth responsibility to administer and commission.


The Primary Care Channel in Victoria is not run by the state. It is Commonwealth administered and it was the responsibility of the Commonwealth to deploy it in each jurisdiction nationally and not the state or territory. .Frewen is on record as placing the expansion of the Primary Care Channel in Victoria on pause in August.

 

[Lynda2475]

Well given the GP channel largely came on board for 1B in April, a small pause for additional GPs in August should hardly have been a huge issue.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

and a greater share of state Pfizer allocation to hubs would of been of huge benefit especially in NSW.

If you look at the records you will actually note that the State Channel in Vic proportionally delivered a lot more AZ than in the NSW State Channel, and that the quantity of Moderna is tiny.

 

[Lynda2475]

So that graphic just shows that Vic is the only state to deliver any Moderna. The amount of AZ delivered is irrelevant to the disucssion re advantage of havig acess to Moderna via multiple channels as all states had easy access AZ.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Well given the GP channel largely came on board for 1B in April, a small pause for additional GPs in August should hardly have been a huge issue.

Well in NSW they may have largely come on Board in April, but that was not at all the case in Victoria.

 

[Lynda2475]

Given there were no state hubs in April except for some workers who had special access, Victorians in 1B were absolutely going to GPs and GPRCs. 1B opened before easter, some 1As even earlier.

Publically acessible state hubs (as opposed ot invite only for certain workers) were not a thing until later in May.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

So that graphic just shows that Vic is the only state to deliver any Moderna. The amount of AZ delivered is irrelevant to the disucssion re advantage of havig acess to Moderna via multiple channels as all states had easy access AZ.

What part of the Commonwealth not having to capacity to actually inject the doses of Moderna via its own Primary Care Channel that it was delivering into is own channel in Victoria in September and October do you not understand?

Do you really believe it was better to have instead had those Moderna doses sitting in storage unused for many weeks or more till it could eventually catch up?

"Lucky" Victoria was the only jurisdiction that where the Commonwealth did not ensure that it had the Primary Care Capacity to inject the doses that it was delivering to itself.

How this ineptness could be considered an advantage, or privilege, boggles the mind.

 

[Lynda2475]

I stated it would have been better if all states were afforded the same opportunity to adminIster Moderna via their hubs i.e have more than one channel to access the vaccine. The only person who mentioned leaving moderna in storage was you. I never said Vic hubs shouldn't have adminIstered moderna, rather the privilege should not have been theirs alone.

I also stated it would have been nice if NSW had been able to put a greater proportion of its Pfizer allocation into state hubs, rather than have lions share with GP channel.

NSW were first to request doses for state hubs (beyond what was permitted for 1A and 1B workers) because Feds were dragging their heels, Vic immediately followed suit and were first to open their hubs.

Any federal ineptitude on approving GP/Pharmacies doesn't negate the advantage that the Victorian state hubs were able to commandeer doses meant for GP/pharmac_ channel, whilst no other state was permitted to do that even though it would have been beneficial to do for state hubs that had huge wait lists.

 

[Lynda2475]

Updated SMH national map, a few days old, but clear who needs to get a move on:



Gold Coast, Ipswich and Login still materially behind their southern neighbours in NSW in the Tweed and New England.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Given there were no state hubs in April,

Your stated timeline in not accurate. State hubs started operating from 22 Feb.

9 March 2021

Two thirds of hospital vaccination hubs in Victoria are now regionally based, with hubs managed by Goulburn Valley Health and Albury Wodonga Health also commencing this week. Victoria’s vaccine rollout will scale up according to the priority groups assigned to us by the Commonwealth, as has been the case from the beginning.​

​

Since 22 February, hospital vaccination hubs have served Victorians in phase 1a of the Commonwealth-led program, including Hotel Quarantine workers, airport and port workers, and at-risk frontline health staff such as those in COVID-19 screening clinics, specialist COVID-19 wards, Intensive Care Units and Emergency Departments.​

​

With Victoria receiving 50,800 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine last Friday, hospital vaccination hubs at Austin Health, Barwon Health, Monash Health and Western Health will now begin administering the newly delivered AstraZeneca vaccine.​

​

In rolling out the AstraZeneca vaccine and as we move to the Commonwealth’s 1b phase, there will be more local vaccination centres linked to the state’s community health organisations and hospitals, which are coordinated by the nine Local Public Health Units currently delivering services through hospital vaccination hubs.​

​

The expansion will allow Victoria to commence vaccinations for other Commonwealth priority groups, including police, fire and other emergency services, and other healthcare workers.​

​

There will also be more locations for Victorians in the Commonwealth’s priority cohorts to get vaccinated including fixed-site services at hospitals and community health centres, mobile outreach services, and high-volume centres located at large community sites.​

​

This builds on the Commonwealth’s work, as they are responsible for delivering vaccines through general practices, community pharmacies and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations.​

Vaccine Hubs Continue To Open Across Regional Victoria

www.premier.vic.gov.au

Victorians in 1B were absolutely going to GPs and GPRCs, except for some workers who had special workplace access. 1B opened before easter, some 1As even earlier.

You stated that GPs were largely on board in Victoria by April. They were not. Only a small number were were, and most that were had limited doses allocated in the main. In August there were extremely few GPs vaccinating in the LGA's of concern which was the driver in 50% of the state hub allocation being direct from August to the LGA's of concern.

Publically acessible state hubs (as opposed ot invite only for certain workers) were not a thing until later in May.

From 3rd May the Vic state government hubs were open to every Victorian aged over 50. 1B was earlier.


I had my first dose in early May and at that time the number GPs vaccinating was still quite limited. My normal GP was not yet amongst the approved. The closest, but 15 minutes drive away from us was a GP RC.

Whereas now GPs who can vaccinate, along with Pharmacists are in abundant supply. Indeed virtually every GP near me can now vaccinate.

 

[straitman]

I stated it would have been better if all states were afforded the same opportunity to adminIster Moderna via their hubs i.e have more than one channel to access the vaccine. The only person who mentioned leaving moderna in storage was you. I never said Vic hubs shouldn't have adminIstered moderna, rather the privilege should not have been theirs alone.

I also stated it would have been nice if NSW had been able to put a greater proportion of its Pfizer allocation into state hubs, rather than have lions share with GP channel.

NSW were first to request doses for state hubs (beyond what was permitted for 1A and 1B workers) because Feds were dragging their heels, Vic immediately followed suit and were first to open their hubs.

Any federal ineptitude on approving GP/Pharmacies doesn't negate the advantage that the Victorian state hubs were able to commandeer doses meant for GP/pharmac_ channel, whilst no other state was permitted to do that even though it would have been beneficial to do for state hubs that had huge wait lists.

Different states at different times have cried foul that others have been given advantage. Overall it sort of averages out as best I can see so what does it matter? Noone is able to commandeer any amount as it comes down to someone making a decision to change things. To answer my own question, IMHO it really doesn't matter in retrospect.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Any federal ineptitude on approving GP/Pharmacies doesn't negate the advantage that the Victorian state hubs were able to commandeer

The Vic Gov volunteered to inject them as the Commowealth could not

doses meant for GP/pharmac_ channel, whilst no other state was permitted to do that even though it would have been beneficial to do for state hubs that had huge wait lists.

The other jurisdictions would have still only injected the same number of people as they had the Pharmacists to inject them. So there was no benefit in allowing state hubs to inject Moderna. There was no negative impact of vaccination rate, nor on the Moderna vaccination rate. Anyone who wanted Moderna could book in and get it.

Only in Vic did the Commonwealth not have enough Pharmacies open to deliver the Moderna doses available. To not let Monash Health administer the doses would have been a significant negative. Monash Health being the only state channel that had staff certified to deliver Moderna.

 

[Lynda2475]

Your stated timeline in not accurate. State hubs started operating from 22 Feb.

Your conveniently ignored the bit where i said publically accessible as opposed to certain workers by invite only. HQ, Airport and Hospital workers were always the domain of the states, it was the hubs for them that were later opened to Joe public with some more added. So again you arguing facts not presented.

State Pfizer hubs opened to public 40-49 in NSW in late May, prior to that Pfizer hubs were only for eligible workers in 1A and 1B. AZ hubs werent really a thing, those in 1A and 1B who were not a special class of worker or in residential care were going to GPRC and GPs to get jabbed. AZ was only added to Olympic Park well after it opened and was the only state hub to offer AZ.

I said Vic hubs opened to the public earlier but it was not in April (or March or February). So your essay doesnt disprove what I said.

 

[Lynda2475]

There is an ongoing benefit to offering Moderna via more than just the pharmac_ channel since it is going to make up a large portion of boosters. Based on covid channel usage to date more people will go to a hub or GP than a pharmac_, so yes it is relevant going forward not just retrospectively.

 

[Quickstatus]

From 3rd May the Vic state government hubs were open to every Victorian aged over 50

State Pfizer hubs opened to public 40-49 in NSW in late May,

Same same +/-

Lots of lessons…

In the end multiple providers were involved. primary care, pharmacists and State Hubs. For many, a 3Jab now a possibility. However one point is missing in recent discussions:

I don’t think Pop up Hubs (PoH) should have a dominant presence in areas where existing channels are well represented, but it should be deployed strategically - into areas where the usual channels are not strongly represented. It is in these places where PoH can make the greatest difference.

And where a PoH is deployed, it should be integrated into and leverages existing channels where/if they exist.

The discussions in recent posts seem to take on a flavour of which channel is better which is always going to unhelpful in a pandemic. A diversity of channels is the way to go but duplication just slows things down because the PoH could be deployed elsewhere.

Deployment of a PoH can be based on GP and pharmacist per head of population or something like that. Any community below that gets a PoH. Additionally any community with high prevalence of chronic illness gets a PoH earlier.
Additionally PoH should be ideally staffed by people with experience/social connections in those areas - this is the most difficult aspect of it all.

Imagine if there was not an AZ scare campaign - how many lives may have been saved and earlier 2Jab % goals reached earlier.

 

[mviy]

It'll be interesting to see what the LGA numbers look like when they are released later today.

VIC case numbers are still high and haven't been coming down the way they have in NSW. Hopefully that'll change with the vaccination levels going up.