A general practitioner clinic in Naracoorte is frustrated by a delay in the distribution of vaccines forcing it to reschedule the Phase 1b rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination.
Kincraig Medical Clinic was set to begin vaccinating patients today as part of the Phase 1b stage of the vaccination roll-out.
Allied health workers who were booked in to receive their vaccinations today have been rescheduled to tomorrow.
Naracoorte Health Services principal medical officer Jeff Taylor said the delays could be ongoing, as they have no idea when the first doses will be arriving.
"We spoke to the coordinator and we were prepared to drive to Adelaide to pick the vaccines up and bring them back, but they couldn't even tell us what state they would be coming from."
He said the clinic was well-prepared for the arrival of the vaccines and the subsequent roll-out.
"We've allocated doctors today, a nurse and a receptionist and all of those resources have gone to waste in a sense, so it's very frustrating," Dr Taylor said.
"We think each doctor could be doing at least four per 15 minutes, so when you start to do the math, we could easily do 800 vaccinations per week.
Distribution lacks clarity
Dr Taylor said he found the lack of clarity about the distribution of the vaccines "quite extraordinary".
"We are going to be providing the vaccine seven days a week where possible and going through to 10 o'clock at night, I would have thought that the same could have been done with the distribution of the vaccines."
Dr Taylor said immunisations are usually provided by the states through a good distribution network.
"This is a new pathway the Commonwealth has now become involved in and it appears that they're not using the same distribution arms," he said.
The unforeseen distribution "hiccup" has made it difficult for the clinic to provide clear information to the general public.
However, Dr Taylor urged people to remain patient.
He said the online booking system for the general public will begin once they know the vaccines are on their way to the clinic.
"It is disappointing when you've got receptionists who are working flat-chat on the phones.
"I just want to emphasise to people that we will let you know once the vaccine gets in and we've got the appointments up and running," he said.
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