19 November 2021

Dear Practice and Pharmacy Staff,

Please see this week’s collection of links and updates related to the COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout

GENERAL INFORMATION

Communications from within the region

In response to the recent positive cases in the Northern Territory, North West HHS released some information to inform and protect their community.  Increasing vaccinations rates is a vital part of this especially in remote Indigenous communities.  NWHHS released the below social media tiles to promote this message in their community.

Boosters and Third Doses

Difference between boosters and third doses –
A booster dose is available to anyone in Australia aged 18 years and over who has completed their primary two-dose course of vaccination at least 6 months ago. Individuals remain fully vaccinated with the primary two-dose vaccination course and the booster is not mandatory.
A third primary dose is available as part of the primary course in individuals aged 12 years and over, who are severely immunocompromised, to address suboptimal or non-response to the standard two-dose schedule. These doses are provided as part of the primary course, they are not boosters.
 

Weather Events and Holidays

Planning for closures, staff leave and Australia’s weather events is currently underway within the Vaccine Operation Centre and further advice will be provided to all vaccination sites in coming weeks on how this may impact your orders and deliveries.
However, planning conducted by each site will also assist in identifying potential gaps in cold chain management and procedures. Test your plans, test your equipment and manage your vaccine stock levels to reduce the risk of losing vaccines to preventable Cold Chain incidents or the risk of providing compromised vaccines to your patients. Refer to the National Vaccine Storage Guidelines ‘Strive for 5’ for further advice if required
 

Vaccination Locations in Western Queensland

The list of Vaccination locations Western Queensland is updated weekly. It includes General Practices, Pharmacies and HHS outreach clinics and is available on the WQPHN website.
 
Please email Kathleen to notify WQPHN of any changes to your listing.

PRACTICES & PHARMACIES ADMINISTERING COVID-19 VACCINES

Updated guidelines for supporting COVID-19 patients in their home

On Wednesday 17 November, The RACGP released their first set of updated guidelines to support GPs to manage COVID-19 positive patients at home RACGP - Home-care guidelines for patients with COVID-19.
 
Over the next few weeks, additional guidance will be released, including COVID-19 assessment and triage guidelines from the National COVID-19 Evidence Taskforce.
 

Infection Control Posters

RACGP have developed a number of resources to support general practices in preventing the spread of infectious diseases. These include posters on how to don, remove and dispose of PPE safely and Patient Alert posters for display at your practice entrance during infectious disease outbreaks, to manage patients before they enter the practice
 

Telehealth

Telehealth is a great platform to reduce the risk of community transmission of COVID-19 and provide continuity of care to your patients. Now is the time to review your procedures and policies to embed this into your workflow. Many WQPHN providers already provide this via phone, however videoconferencing is the preferred method to do a telehealth consultation, particularly when looking after a COVID+ patient. WQPHN are pleased to partner with Healthdirect Videocall platform, which is FREE for providers.  Please call your relevant WQ PHN Coordinator for further information and setup.

WQPHN COVID-19 Response Contacts

Western Queensland Primary Health Network gratefully acknowledges the financial and other support from the Australian Government Department of Health

Although funding has been provided by the Australian Government, the material contained herein does not necessarily represent the views
or policies of, nor is endorsed by, the Australian Government.