The Department of Health has invited General Practitioners and pharmacies to join the nationwide effort to administer the COVID-19 vaccine, integrating more than 2,000 vaccine sites across Australia.
Minister for Health, Greg Hunt said there were already several agreements for the supply of approximately 140 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, including those produced by Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Novavax.
“Access to vaccines approved for use in Australia by the Therapeutic Goods Administration has been prioritised, ensuring those at greatest risk are vaccinated first,” Mr Hunt said.
“We are working hard to ensure site readiness including specific handling requirements and sufficient cold chain capacity in locations that will be handling frozen vaccines.”
He said he had been working with Pfizer and AstraZeneca, as well as logistics providers, DHL and Linfox, to ensure that either vaccine could be safely delivered throughout Australia.
Minister for Rural Health, Mark Coulton said Australia’s world class primary health workforce would be critical to the success of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
“I have held regular discussions with rural health stakeholders to ensure the impacts of COVID-19 are specifically considered in a rural context,” Mr Coulton said.
“The sector has provided valuable insights and considerations to the vaccine rollout and distribution across regional Australia.”