With COVID-19 vaccination access locations expected to decline, several primary care physicians are unclear about making boosters work.
GPs have expressed worries about their involvement in the COVID-19 vaccination booster program, as access choices for the next phase of the deployment in Australia are expected to shrink.
According to Nine Newspapers, almost two-thirds of Victorian pharmacies engaged in the initial course rollout have not signed up for supplies of Pfizer — the only vaccine licensed for boosters so far – for the booster program.
As state vaccination centres close, the general practice may be given more responsibility for the booster program than expected, with some GPs unclear how they will make it work.
Dr Michael Wright, Chair of the RACGP Expert Committee on Funding and Health System Reform, said that it's hardly unexpected that individuals desire to leave the booster program.
As the state vaccination clinics close, this will put additional strain on primary care providers, especially general practices. There is a need to redirect those resources to those administering the immunisations.
Dr Wright believes the booster program will be a vital component of the immunisation campaign but that more cooperation from general practitioners is required to make it successful.
He added that GPs have done the bulk of the work in the immunisation program and are eager to give the care our patients need.
However, he admitted that they can't keep doing it if it means running our practice into the ground, which is unsustainable, or if we don't have the resources or equipment to do it safely.
Dr Joe Garra, a Melbourne GP, stated earlier this week that he is unclear how to handle the realities of delivering the booster doses.
Many of us are still figuring out how we're going to do the boosters.
He said they’ll probably attempt to perform them opportunistically when people arrive.
By the way, it's been seven months since your previous vaccination. We have several ready; do you want one now whilst you're here?
Dr Wright agreed that the dynamics of the booster program would vary from those of the initial course and said that more needs to be done to ensure that vaccination is included in regular treatment wherever feasible.
Dr Wright said that because vaccine remuneration levels are so low and because they must be bulk billed and cannot be connected with regular billing methods, most practices can only do this in vaccination clinics.
This isn't business as usual. It will be difficult for the program if GPs are not allowed greater leeway in implementing it as part of routine care.
The nationwide booster program's start was announced last month and formally began at the beginning of last week (8 November).
The Federal Government maintained the MBS item numbers used for second doses of COVID vaccinations for booster injections.
Currently, only a tiny percentage of the population, including healthcare professionals, is eligible for a third vaccine dosage. In addition many general offices did not begin delivering second doses until at least mid-June, implying that patients would not be eligible for a booster until just before Christmas.
As a result, some GPs have called for the recommended interval between second doses and booster injections to be reduced to six months to enable more of the current vaccine supply to be utilised.
This week, UNSW epidemiology Professor Mary-Louise McLaws told newsGP that the Government should close the gap since existing vaccinations often show a substantial loss in protection against illness sooner than six months following an initial course.
According to the most recent Government estimates, almost 300,000 persons in Australia have received a third dosage of a COVID-19 vaccination.
The data, however, do not differentiate between those who got a third dosage owing to severe immunosuppression, which is classified as part of the original course, and those who received the third dose as a booster.
Professor John Skerritt, the chairman of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), said last month that around 1.6 million individuals would be eligible for the booster by the beginning of 2022.
Meanwhile, Dr Wright emphasised the major problem that GPs currently face in immunising the vaccine-hesitant and those who have previously been unable to obtain a vaccination.
'We still need to assist the remaining Australians in being immunised, as well as vulnerable individuals who require access to their third dose,' he added.
'GPs have a lot of work to perform, but they need to be appropriately resourced to accomplish it, and the present Medicare items are insufficient and rigid.'
'It's impeding GPs' capacity to conduct the necessary work.'
