CLEAR PLANNING, INFORMATION NEEDED FOR VACCINE
I am writing to highlight the failures of the COVID-19 vaccination in our district.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Apparently the Murrumbidgee PHN has been given oversight of the "1a" part of the rollout to aged and disability care.
There is no sign of any action in the Western Murrumbidgee, and worse than that, there is no information provided. None is available on request either by phone or email.
While the "1b" vaccinations are underway through the well oiled network of local doctors, who have given vaccinations for decades, and certainly know how to organise the distribution to people wanting vaccines, in Griffith and Leeton there is no information on when the Covid-19 vaccine will arrive in aged care, no information on which vaccine will be provided, or even a priority listing for the area.
Giving this task to an organisation which has not been involved in an immunisation program before, such as a PHN, means that the people tasked with the organisation are unaware of the other matters which also have to be arranged.
We have influenza vaccines available now. The influenza vaccine campaign is not meant to commence yet. NSW Health clearly says that people in "1a " should get their Covid vaccine first.
"When scheduling influenza and COVID-19 vaccines, consider the following principles: - People in phase 1a for COVID-19 vaccination should receive the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it is available to them, and then receive their influenza vaccine (separated by at least 14 days). -
People in later phases for COVID-19 vaccination should receive their influenza vaccine as soon as it is available, and then receive their COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available to them.
From: www.health.nsw.gov.au/immunisation/Pages/flu.aspx
Without basic information on when the COVID-19 vaccine is expected, and which vaccine will be given, some aged care places are giving influenza vaccine early, hoping to provide the essential protection against influenza for the residents.
If suddenly the COVID-19 vaccination team arrives, many people will not have the recommended two weeks between the vaccines.
However, this is not an academic exercise. This is about people. These people have spent 12 months in either complete or partial lockdown, and still have scrutiny over their excursions away from home.
Most people are looking forward to the vaccine, because when they have had it they will be freer to see their extended families, go shopping and choose their own purchases again, and just be free to live their previous normal life.
The program to provide CCOVID-19 vaccination to people in aged care in the Western Murrumbidgee is an abject failure, as people in the lower priority group "1b" are getting their vaccines first.
Where is the Commonwealth Government's Plan B?
Dr Elizabeth Dodd, Kookora Surgery Griffith
ARE THEY ON THEIR WAY OR WANDERING AROUND?
As I drive around Griffith during any given school day, I find it is a common sight to see Murrumbidgee Regional College students, in uniform, wandering around all over Griffith unsupervised.
It leaves me to wonder, is there a problem with the merged high schools requiring students to walk between campuses?
Or, is there a lack of supervision and attendance issues? In either case, surely the situation is not considered acceptable by the staff?
Greg Adamson, Griffith
GOT SOMETHING TO SAY?
Fill out the form and let us know...