(Photo by Vito Corleone / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)
I was interviewed and quoted in the article, “What is needed to get Australians vaccinated by December?”, written by Ms Anastasia Tsirtsakis, published in newsGP.
Tsirtasakis A. What is needed to get Australians vaccinated by December? newsGP. 2021 May 14. Available from: https://www1.racgp.org.
Quotation
“Sydney GP Dr Michael Tam believes it is plausible that Australia’s target population could be vaccinated by December, at the very least with one dose, but says the rate of immunisation will need to ‘massively increase’.
‘The total number of doses administered on 12 May was roughly 82,000 of which the majority [50,000] was delivered in primary care,’ he told newsGP.
‘If we use generous round numbers for the current vaccination rate, [say] 100,000 doses a day, and consider that we have roughly 160 business days remaining in the year, that means that we can deliver roughly 16 million doses by the end of the year.
‘With the adult population being roughly 16 million people, we need 32 million doses. Conservatively, we’ll need to at least double the current vaccination rate to have immunised the Australian adult population.’
But for that to happen, Dr Tam says there are a few caveats, the key being a reliable supply of vaccines and logistical support.
‘For example, an online booking system that is functional and fit for purpose and supply of the necessary consumables to give vaccine doses at volume, [such as] appropriate needles and syringes,’ he said.
…
With Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine now the preference for those aged under 50, Commonwealth vaccine centres are set to be involved in its distribution.
While it remains unclear whether general practices will be involved, Dr Tam says to meet targets it will likely be a necessary step.
‘There is a significant possibility that the mRNA based COVID-19 vaccines, made by both Pfizer and Moderna, will increasingly be the mainstay of our vaccine strategy,’ he said. ‘The cold chain logistics, so that these vaccines can be delivered in primary care, needs planning now.’
