PROMISES to increase the number of doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine (COVAX) that GP clinics will receive each week are being welcomed by medical and pharmacy organisations alike.
The Federal Government's decision to immediately increase the minimum number of doses GPs will receive from 50 to 150 a week, has been described as "a positive step forward" by Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) President, Dr Karen Price.
"This is fantastic news because there are many general practices across Australia crying out for more COVID-19 vaccine doses," she said.
"This increased dose allocation means that those practices with the capacity to do so can ramp up their rollout operations and get more jabs in arms with less delay.
"[The] announcement is not a perfect panacea and the RACGP will continue to advocate for general practices that have faced significant challenges during the vaccine rollout, as well as the patients they treat."
Under the new rollout plan, GP clinics that were receiving 100 doses a week will now get 200.
Welcoming the move to boost supplies to GPs, a Pharmacy Guild of Australia spokesperson told Pharmacy Daily that the Government should move to approve pharmacies that have been deemed suitable to be vaccine sites immediately.
"The decision to increase COVID-19 vaccination doses to GPs is a welcome sign that supply issues have been resolved and so the Government should immediately begin distributing doses to pharmacies," the spokesperson said.
"The Guild will continue to work with government to help ensure pharmacies get the required number of doses to meet demand in the communities they serve."
Australian Medical Association President, Dr Omar Khorshid, praised the decision to boost vaccine allocations to GPs, describing them as "the backbone of Australia's COVAX program".
"It is important for people to be able to discuss the benefits and risks of vaccination, including any concerns they may have about the very rare instances of blood clots, and GPs are there to help patients to make well-informed decisions about whether or not they should be vaccinated," he said.
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