The federal Health Department is looking to undertake a review of the nation's capability to roll out a COVID-19 vaccine if one becomes available.
Tender documents released this week on AusTender show the Health Department is seeking applicants to complete an evaluation of this year's influenza vaccine rollout, and use those findings to inform a COVID-19 vaccination program.
It follows another recent approach by the government to determine the capability and capacity within Australia for the manufacturing of a potential vaccine.
The tender documents state that this year's influenza vaccine rollout was the largest ever in Australia with the Therapeutic Goods Administration releasing more than 17.6 million doses.
This was up from 13.2 million doses last year and 11 million doses in 2018.
The tender says there was unprecedented demand for the flu vaccine this year, believed to be driven by the coronavirus pandemic and people looking to protect themselves.
The department said it had received significant stakeholder feedback from this year's flu vaccine rollout, primarily regarding supply, distribution, access and and availability of vaccines, all of which would be valuable when planning a COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
"The rollout of a COVID-19 vaccine has the potential to be similar in nature to that of a seasonal influenza vaccine program roll out, specifically with respect to the concentrated nature of a potential program, at least initially, as well as stakeholder demand and interest," the tender documents said.
"Therefore, it is timely to assess the capability, capacity and potential constraints of the current system with respect to the rollout of future influenza seasons, as well as a potential COVID-19 program."
The department wants to identify any potential improvements that could be made relating to forecasting, supply, distribution, vaccine administration, stakeholder engagement, communication and surveillance and monitoring activities.
