HUNTER GPs are scrambling to secure enough booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine as climbing local cases and a sudden change in scheduling drives a surge in demand.
Less than four weeks ago, general practices were having to discard expiring vaccines after calls to bring booster shots forward fell on deaf ears, Anna Davidson, the director of Port Stephens GP Super Clinic said.
But the recommendation to bring booster shots forward to five months instead of six has coincided with a rapidly accelerating outbreak in the Hunter, leaving GP clinics scrambling to track down enough vaccines to meet demand.
"A lot of GP clinics ended up having vaccines expire and throwing them out only a few weeks ago," Ms Davidson said. "People just didn't have that sense of urgency.
"It was very distressing, because we were pushing to see if we could vaccinate people with the boosters slightly earlier, so we could use the vaccines up and not waste them."
Ms Davidson said at the time, other countries had started offering boosters at four months, and the UK had since dropped it to three.
"Then the Omicron variant hit. The Argyle cluster happened, and they reduced the booster timing to five months," she said. "All of a sudden we needed a lot more vaccines. We could not have anticipated that another month's worth of people suddenly would be needing boosters now."
Ms Davidson said they were expecting some vaccines to arrive next week.
"We are just feeling extremely frustrated that we didn't have a chance to have any input into how this could have happened better, given we are the ones doing the majority of vaccinations," she said. "We have been left out of the conversation all along, and we are the ones that have to make it work."
Other practices had decided not to order extra vaccines over Christmas because of concerns they would "go to waste". Now, the phones are ringing hot again.
"Once again GPs are the last to know and have to deal with people wanting it yesterday," Dr Allan Kirkpatrick, of Cardiff General Practice, said.
Paterson MP Meryl Swanson is calling on the federal government to urgently top up supplies of vaccines in the region.
"I had people tell me that not one medical surgery or pharmacy in the Tomaree Peninsula had any vaccines, and the earliest date they can offer for boosters is January," she said.
"Now the government has reduced the wait from six months to five months, and we have this new outbreak, and there is a sense of urgency. People are worried and want boosters, but the clinics don't have the vaccines to give them."
