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Vaccination is essential to our COVID-19 recovery
AGED CARE MUST REMAIN A PRIORITY
Our continuing vulnerability to COVID-19 remains. That there is a vaccine is to be lauded, however, the roll out across Australia has not been accompanied by the sense of urgency and commitment seen in other comparable countries. The low rates of transmission in Australia are envied, however, at the current pace our roll out of vaccine will not be.
Aged care was rightly identified within the first priority groups (Phase 1a and 1b) of the national rollout strategy. Sadly, failures in logistics and communications characterised the early weeks of the roll out, which were later compounded by the change in tactics in use of the Astra Zeneca vaccine.
This has meant delays in vaccinating aged care residents and staff, and now months after the vaccination program was begun, the first priority group are still not fully protected.
LASA has advocated strongly for the aged care setting to be prioritised, and we have offered information and engagement with providers to streamline the processes in an attempt to ensure that the roll out stays on track. Our thanks to our Members who have generously shared their insights, experiences and suggestions into these ongoing discussions.
The Government then shifted its timeline, advising that the majority of residents in aged care will have received their first dose vaccine by the end of May. By the final week of May, there were still about 300 facilities to have been visited by the in-reach vaccination teams.
The situation for aged care workers is now more complex. There has been no target published for the vaccination of the workforce nor any public information issued about progress. Workers aged under 60 in both residential and the home care setting will now receive the Pfizer vaccine but can choose Astra Zeneca if they wish. Those aged over 60 will access the Astra Zeneca. All access routes can be found through the Government’s eligibility checker. This is being continually updated, however, there is still only limited access.
Providers of residential aged care may choose to run their own clinics through the Request for Tender published by the Government, or can negotiate with their local Primary Health Network for a local vaccine provider to attend to administer to their staff aged over 50.
However, all such processes are administratively burdensome to the provider. Being able to run a vaccine clinic is not new to residential care providers who do so annually for the influenza vaccine, which in many jurisdictions will continue to remain a requirement of entry into the 2021 flu season.
Home and community care provider responsibilities remain at this stage to encourage the uptake of both the COVID-19 and flu vaccine.
The Government has published considerable material to encourage the uptake of the vaccine and LASA will continue to advocate for our Members to ensure that this can be achieved easily and with urgency. On 4 June the Government confirmed that the reporting of aged care worker vaccination status would be mandated, and on 28 June vaccination itself will now be mandated for residential aged care staff, however the detail on this is currently unavailable.
In other COVID-19 news, the Communicable Diseases Network Australia has updated their guidance for outbreaks in residential aged care to incorporate the lessons learnt over the previous six months.
A national review led by Professor Lyn Gilbert and Adjunct Professor Alan Lilly led to significant consultation with the sector during February and March, and this report will be released in the near future.
As we head into winter, the protection that is currently afforded to the most vulnerable through border restrictions (international and internal) and maintaining COVID-19 safe practices will be our first line of defence. Ensuring we have a comprehensive vaccine program that is accessible and prioritised is essential to ensure that we extend that protection.
