{"id":2091,"date":"2021-01-31T10:13:37","date_gmt":"2021-01-31T10:13:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/khoo.com.au\/?p=2091"},"modified":"2021-01-31T10:13:37","modified_gmt":"2021-01-31T10:13:37","slug":"covid-19-vaccines-not-coming-to-your-gp-soon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/khoo.com.au\/index.php\/2021\/01\/31\/covid-19-vaccines-not-coming-to-your-gp-soon\/","title":{"rendered":"Covid-19 vaccines – not coming to your GP soon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

31st January 2021, Dr Chee L Khoo<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Covid-19 vaccine<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A week ago we had a detailed look at all the different\ncovid-19 vaccines<\/a> that are coming to town soon and why we should have it\nwhen it becomes available. There was uncertainty then how mass vaccination with\nthose vaccines will be rolled out when they become available in late February\nor early March 2021. We now have some sketchy<\/em> details on how the whole\nprogramme will be roll out and I thought it would be important that you are\nkept abreast with developments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, remember, Australia is in a very good position in terms\nof control of the virus. This good fortune is the result of good government,\ngood relationship between government and the medical experts, access to funds\nto support those financially affected and to make universal testing widely\navailable, most people doing the right thing for the good of the community and\ngood luck. On total case and new case numbers are low, our mortality is low and\nwe have good tracing ability. Our closed international borders allow us to\nmanage what comes in from overseas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Compared with most other countries overseas, we are in the driver\u2019s\nseat and in control. Yes, vaccine will help us get out of this Covid-19 imposed\nnew world eventually<\/strong>. But make no mistake, none of the vaccines out there\ncan claim to prevent infection nor prevent transmission<\/strong>. It will reduce\ndisease severity and reduce (or avoid) deaths from Covid-19 infection. It will\nmake Covid-19 like a mild flu but you can still transmit the virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You must know that the roll out campaign is pretty much unprecedented.\nImagine having to vaccinate 20-25 million people twice. This is probably going\nto take 4-6 months if not the rest of this year to accomplished. That is, if\nthe vaccine supplies arrived as planned. With Europe and USA crying out for supplies,\nmaintaining an uninterrupted supply<\/strong> for a smooth vaccine roll out is\ngoing to be very difficult. With pressure from the opposition and media, the\ngovernment is likely to over promise and under deliver. Just like they did with\nthe influenza vaccine roll out last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My sources close to NSW Health tells me that the roll out\nwill occur in two phases. Phase 1 will be divided into Phase 1A<\/strong>\ntargeting immediate frontline worker, workers in hotel quarantine and aircraft\nstaff. Phase 1B<\/strong> will be targeting over Australians (>70 years old) and\npatients with medical conditions which place them at increase risk of severe\nCovid-19 infections although what that means is yet to be clarified. Phase 2<\/strong>\nwill be for the rest of us and is supposed to commence when Phase 1 is\ncompleted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phase 1A<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phase 1A will be expected to begin in either late February\n(say, Feb 28, to fulfill a promise). Due to difficult storage requirements\n(< -70 degrees Celsius), the Pfizer<\/strong> vaccine will be reserved for hospital\nstaff while the rest of the people in Phase 1A will receive the AstraZeneca\/Oxford<\/strong>\n(AZO) vaccine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phase 1 B<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most people in the Phase 1B will receive the AZO vaccine because it is easier to deliver to the community. Now, how the government is going about rolling out the vaccine is potentially going to cause mayhem over the next 4-6 months. Instead of assisting GPs in the whole mass vaccination campaign, the government appears to be favouring private commercial enterprise<\/strong> as the main vaccinators. In order for GPs to be able to vaccinate patients with the Covid-19 vaccine, GPs will have to submit a 3-page Expression of Interest<\/strong> (EOI) and agree to terms and conditions that is not conducive to a safe and orderly campaign. If you care to read the 18 page document, it is here<\/strong><\/a>. This is what is required of GPs if we want to receive the Covid-19 stock in Phase 1B:<\/p>\n\n\n\n