COVID Vaccinations

There is a lot of information coming out about the C-19 vaccinations and it can be quite a challenge keeping UTD.We will continue to try to help our community navigate the vaccine landscape…What follows is a portion of what was sent out to us today by the Health Department

..”The medical advice on which vaccine to get – Pfizer or AstraZeneca – has not changed. The Pfizer vaccine remains the preferred vaccine for people under 60. However, under new arrangements, access to the AstraZeneca vaccine is being expanded to adults under 40 – provided they give informed consent.This means people aged 18 to 39 – who are not otherwise eligible – can choose to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine after the appropriate individual risk-benefit analysis and consent process. Health providers should only vaccinate patients with AstraZeneca without a contraindication and if the person gives fully informed consent, noting they will be able to access Pfizer later in the year.

AstraZeneca is highly effective in protecting people against the serious health effects of COVID-19 – including death. It is locally produced and readily available in Australia. Currently we have adequate supplies of AstraZeneca to vaccinate all eligible people.Making AstraZeneca available to a wider section of the population will give informed younger people the option to be vaccinated as Australia enters this next critical stage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The eligibility checker will be updated to reflect these changes by tomorrow……..Practitioners should continue to advise people on the preferred vaccine for their age – AstraZeneca for over 60s, and Pfizer for under 60s.”

At Foster Medical Centre we have been able to obtain an increased allotment of AZ vaccines (after weeks of trying!) and we encourage everyone who is eligible to ring up,book in and get vaccinated. We have capacity now!

Finally, we also have Pfizer-watch this space and we will advertise how to get a Pfizer vaccine (if eligible)through the clinic as soon as we can.