Njernda Aboriginal Corporation will begin vaccinating its healthcare workers and patients who fall into the Phase 1b category at its medical centre next week.
Phase 1b includes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 55 plus, elderly adults aged 70 plus, frontline healthcare workers and adults with disability who have a specified underlying medical condition.
The vaccination clinic will be open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday next week from 10am to 12.30pm — due to limited supply, those who are eligible to be vaccinated will be contacted by the clinic.
Other local medical practices, including Echuca Moama Family Medical Practice, Rich River Health Group and AMCAL Echuca, have received approval to distribute the vaccine, but a start date has not been confirmed.
Meanwhile, Echuca-Moama’s private aged care facilities are being left in the dark about when their residents and staff will receive the vaccine, despite being in the first priority group.
The Federal Government is in charge of the rollout of the vaccine to private aged care and disability care, as well as the general community, while the states look after their own frontline healthcare workers and public aged care.
Echuca Community for the Aged chief executive John Dean said it was incredibly frustrating.
“We’re still waiting for the contractor appointed by the Commonwealth to advise us when they’ll be here, or the other option is through the Murray Primary Health Network,” he said.
“We’ve got consent, we’ve gone through all of the process with our staff and residents, we’ve got our clinic room ready to go — we just need to know when they’re arriving.
“What we’ve got to try and manage now is influenza vaccines at the same time — there needs to be at least 15 days between vaccination for COVID-19 and influenza.”
Mr Dean said the advice they received was to vaccinate for influenza in April before the winter months.
“We’re concerned we’re going to get out of the peak time for our residents and staff to get their influenza vaccine,” he said.
“Not knowing when the COVID-19 vaccine will be here is impacting on our plans.”
Echuca Community for the Aged, Menarock Life Murrayvale, Southern Cross Care Moama and Bupa Echuca are yet to receive a date for COVID-19 vaccinations.
As a public aged care facility, Glanville Village’s vaccines will come via Bendigo Health’s Public Health Unit. A date for this has not been confirmed yet
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