We should all be reassured by the Australian Government announcement of an early roll-out of Covid-19 vaccines commencing mid- to late February, particularly with Australian cases of the more virulent UK strain of the virus.
Vaccines train our immune systems to create proteins (antibodies) that fight viruses. Vaccination protects you from getting, and passing on,
the Covid-19 virus.
In the first phase of the national roll-out strategy, the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine will be administered to healthcare and quarantine workers on the frontline, aged care and disability care residents and workers, and other priority groups.
In the next phase, we expect the Astra Zeneca (Oxford) vaccine will be administered to elderly adults, other healthcare and high-risk workers and people with underlying medical conditions. The next phases will see the vaccination of the general population according to risk (older adults first).
The efficacy of the Astra Zeneca vaccine is comparable with other effective vaccines,
such as those for pneumococcus and varicella (chicken pox). The advantage of the Astra Zeneca vaccine is that it requires similar cold storage and administration as other commonly distributed vaccines.
People should be assured that both vaccines have gone through the normal, albeit expedited, safety and approval processes. Neither of the planned vaccines are live vaccines and therefore you cannot catch the virus from the vaccine. From the studies, both vaccines are well tolerated with minimal side effects. They both target the same spike protein on the virus surface, and both require a booster a few weeks after the initial dose.
General practices will be at the forefront of the distribution and administration of Covid-19 vaccines in Australia. We can ensure the vaccines are correctly stored and administered, provide patient education and enable informed consent. We also provide observation in the unlikely case of adverse reactions.
As a specialist travel medicine clinic, Bulli Medical Practice is well placed to provide the Covid-19 vaccine to Northern Illawarra residents. We are experienced in establishing vaccination clinics, and, during lockdown last year, we administered over 2500 influenza vaccines.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr Jeffrey Hall graduated from the University of Sydney in 1995 and undertook general practice training in regional NSW and the UK before settling in the Illawarra in 1999. He joined Bulli Medical Practice in 1999 and became a managing partner in 2001. He supervises medical students from the University of Wollongong and General Practice Registrars from GP Synergy.
Jeff loves living and working in the Illawarra with his family.