Northern Rivers organisation Healthy North Coast is preparing to coordinate the complex task of rolling out the Covid-19 vaccination program across the local primary care network in mid to late February.

Healthy North Coast acting chief executive Monika Wheeler said the organisation will work in partnership with local general practices, GP respiratory clinics, Aboriginal Medical Services and NSW Health, to help deliver the vaccine.

“The local health workforce is gearing up for the vaccine rollout,” Ms Wheeler said. “New referral pathways, education and practice support are being developed by Healthy North Coast to assist with the implementation of the program.

“This is early days and we will continue to keep practitioners, allied health professionals and the community up-to-date with the latest information as it becomes available.”

Questions

The Lismore App asked Healthy North Coast about which vaccines we could expect to see here and how ongoing availability will be administered.

A HNC spokesperson said the finer details of the rollout are still being worked out and would be guided by the changing map of the national COVID-19 Vaccine National Rollout Strategy – as announced by the Prime Minister on January 7. See the Vaccine Roadmap here

The strategy prioritises frontline health workers and older people living in residential aged care facilities as the first to receive the vaccine.

Across Australia, there are many questions being raised about the vaccines and the rollout strategy – from the potential dangers of adverse reactions to the vaccine – to whether there will be different vaccines made available for health workers and the general population.

There are also questions about the effectiveness of the two available AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines.

AstraZeneca or Pfizer?

ABC News reported earlier this week that it was likely we would see the AstraZeneca variety made available in remoter areas of Australia, because of the lack of availability of the minus-70 degrees Celsius cold storage needed for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

Complex logistics

Healthy North Coast has identified there are complex logistical and operational requirements for rolling out a coordinated, large-scale vaccination strategy, such as:

• Identifying competent and credentialed staff to administer vaccines
• Coordinating education and refresher skills training as indicated by workforce skills surveys
• Communication of key information to service providers and the general population in a way that is clear and easy to understand
• Secure storage, maintenance, transport and delivery of vaccines
• Appointment scheduling for initial vaccination and follow-up booking management for second dose vaccination (likely to be 4 weeks after the first dose)
• Implementation of a standardised care pathway incorporating pre-screening assessment, vaccine administration and post-vaccination monitoring
• Identifying accessible, clinically appropriate and safe locations to administer COVID-19 vaccines, including areas for post-vaccination monitoring
• Documentation and recording of vaccine administration in the Australian Immunisation Register
• Quality and safety aspects such as infection prevention and control practices, maintaining physical distancing, management of adverse events for vaccine recipients and/or staff including adverse reactions, anaphylaxis, management of needlestick injuries, bodily fluid/blood exposure incidents
• Recording consent and privacy of information
• Matching demand and capacity for vaccination service delivery and having the ability to ramp up in the event of emerging needs, changes to timelines or vaccine supply availability

The Lismore App will keep you updated about the local rollout strategy as more information is released.