The Australian government caught literally everyone off-guard with its announcement late on Monday night that young people would be able to get the AstraZeneca jab. Now, amid a flurry of frantic phone calls from patients to doctors on Tuesday, GPs don’t know what to do.
The government’s scheme will let people of all ages get the AstraZeneca jab if they have a chat with their GP and sign an indemnity form which would legally protect the doctor in the extremely unlikely event of any side effects such as blood clotting.
Obviously, everyone’s welcoming the news that more young people can get vaccinated, but it would be nice if there was some explanation as to how it’s going to actually work.
A spokesperson for the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners – which is the peak body representing GPs all over Australia – told PEDESTRIAN.TV that doctors didn’t get a heads-up about the massive changes to the vaccine rollout and that “it’s not entirely clear” how the indemnity scheme is supposed to work.
Just called my GP to make an appointment to get the AZ vaccine. Receptionist said it was the first she had heard that anyone could now get the AZ. Said they hadn’t received any official notification yet advising of the change. She’s going to get some advice then call me back.
— Shane Bazzi (@shanebazzi) June 28, 2021
“GPs really got this news the way everyone else did through the media, and they’ve woken up to their vaccine clinics and patients calling them off the hook asking if they can get the vaccine,” the RACGP spokesperson told P.TV.
“They don’t really know if they can provide [the AstraZeneca shot to young people] yet because they haven’t been given official advice from the government. They’ve just heard about it through the media and they need more than that.
“We’ve been hearing that a lot of patients have been calling their GPs, but their GPs are not confident enough to book in appointments for them just yet.”
Despite Scott Morrison saying last night anyone under 60 can get AstraZeneca from their GP, the Covid vaccine eligibility tracker still tells under 40s they're not eligible. FIX IT!#auspol pic.twitter.com/pOSo1CxaG7
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) June 28, 2021
It’s also unclear if the patient rebate for vaccine counselling will be extended to young Aussies, too. These kinds of appointments are essential for building trust and confidence within the community.
GPs, like the rest of us, are glad more people can finally get the AstraZeneca jab. But also like the rest of us, they want clarification about how the rollout is actually supposed to work.
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