South-west community members frustrated with COVID-19 vaccine rollout

South-west residents under 40 have been able to jump the queue to get the Pfizer jab, reporting receiving phone calls from South West Healthcare staff desperate to ensure doses don't go to waste.

A Warrnambool resident told The Standard they had received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine last month even though they were not eligible under federal government requirements for the rollout.

"I was contacted by a friend whose parent works in the vaccination centre at the old Sam's Warehouse site," the resident in their 30s said.

"They asked if I wanted to get the Pfizer vaccine, and I said, 'ahh, what? I can't get it, I'm not eligible.' They explained to me the vaccination centre had cancellations on that day and if the vaccines weren't used they would be disposed of.

"I felt guilty, almost like a queue jumper, but I also understood that no-one wanted to see vaccines being destroyed.

"I was happy to receive the first dose and will soon get my second.

"I personally think the federal government has a lot to answer for - this vaccine rollout has been a complete shambles. I feel for everyone who wants to be vaccinated but the availability isn't there - we are months behind other countries across the world. It's embarrassing."

South-west residents eligible for the Pfizer vaccine have expressed frustrations on missing out.

It's prompted calls to the health provider to set up a system notifying eligible people when there are cancellations or leftover Pfizer doses.

SWH did not respond to The Standard's questions on whether any system would be implemented locally, or how many people have received the last minute Pfizer jabs.

A total of 1173 first and second doses of AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines were administered by SWH last week.

SWH COVID-19 coordinator Sue Anderton, said there had been no wastage of the AstraZeneca vaccines locally.

"SWH encourages the community to be vaccinated and if unsure discuss hesitancy with their GP," she said.

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South West Healthcare is the only provider in the region offering Pfizer vaccines. There are currently no general practices in the region administering it.

The other 30 primary care vaccination sites run by the federal government currently only administer AstraZeneca vaccines in the Warrnambool, Corangamite, Glenelg and Southern Grampians LGAs.

Another four general practices are expected to come on board to deliver the AstraZeneca vaccine this month, however the federal government would not say which clinics or where.

"The department is currently undergoing a process to identify participating general practices to commence administering the Pfizer vaccine from July 2021," a federal health spokeswoman said.

It's anticipated that all participating general practices will have the opportunity to administer Pfizer by October.

South-west residents eligible for the Pfizer vaccine have expressed frustrations on missing out.

It's prompted calls to the health provider to set up a system notifying eligible people when there are cancellations or leftover Pfizer doses.

People aged 16-40 can only access AstraZeneca through participating GP clinics. SWH is currently only vaccinating people 40 years and over with AstraZeneca.

SWH have administered 18,546 vaccines since March 10, 2021.

It opened up its next tranche of Pfizer and AstraZeneca clinics for next week on Thursday.

The Pfizer doses were exhausted within hours.

"They're all gone," a resident who was too late to book said yesterday.

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More than 900,000 Australians have received a COVID-19 vaccine since last Friday's national cabinet meeting, where the government opened the door for anyone over the age of 16 to opt into taking AstraZeneca rather than waiting for the preferred Pfizer doses to become available.

A total of 8,871,572 vaccines have been administered since the start of the rollout, to 32.2 per cent of the population in Australia aged 16 or older, with 10.5 per cent of the eligible population in Australia now fully vaccinated.

Australia's weekly supply of Pfizer vaccine doses is set to triple, in what the prime minister hailed as a shot in the arm for the nation's beleaguered rollout.

The federal government announced Pfizer supplies would rise to roughly one million per week from July 19 - up from between 300,000 and 350,000 currently.

The pharmaceutical company confirmed the total volume of Australia's order had not changed.

"Pfizer is committed to delivering 40 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to Australia over 2021. The total number of 40 million doses we are contracted to deliver to Australia over 2021 has not changed. We continue to work closely with the government to support the ramp up of their rollout program," Pfizer said in a statement.

"While the details of our agreement with the government are confidential, we can confirm that deliveries to Australia remain on track, and we continue to update our weekly delivery schedule in line with the ramp up. We expect the remainder of the 40 million doses to be delivered by the end of 2021."

- With AAP

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