Dear colleagues,
We’re seeing great momentum now with vaccine take up and Premier Daniel Andrews has flagged that Victoria may get extra freedoms in the coming fortnight as the state reaches its first vaccination milestone of 70 per cent of eligible Victorians having received at least one dose of a vaccine.
Priority bookings for Western Health staff, volunteers and household contacts vaccination
Western Health has established a dedicated process to facilitate easier access to COVID-19 vaccinations for our staff, volunteers, family and household members of staff. Priority access appointments will be available for staff and their household members Monday to Sunday from 8am-3.30pm.
To be eligible for priority access, staff and their household members must:
- Be eligible for vaccination in accordance with the eligibility criteria defined by the Australian Government
- Be over 12 years of age
- Share a household with a Western Health staff member with an active employee number.
To book an appointment, please call 8345 0661 (Monday to Friday 8.00am–4.30pm). If you’re accompanying a family member to the booking, please present your Western Health staff ID. If your family member is attending on their own, they can present a confirmation email that will be sent to the Western Health staff member. Please ensure adult household members bring evidence of the same residence as the staff member e.g. driver’s licence or rate notice.
For more information, view the quick reference guide.
Priority patient vaccination
Western Health has launched a new priority patient vaccination process that expedites vaccinations for our patients enabling a more efficient delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Priority patient access will be available for eligible patients from Monday to Sunday from 8am to 3.30pm at all Western Health hubs. For more information on priority patient access, view the quick reference guide.
Were you vaccinated elsewhere? Please complete our survey to capture staff vaccination data
There is increasing discussion that COVID-19 vaccination may become mandatory for healthcare workers, as has already occurred in NSW.
Accordingly, it is important that we have an accurate and complete picture of which Western Health staff have received the COVID-19 vaccine – whether it was administered by Western Health or by a GP or other vaccination centre. If you received a vaccine at a site not run by Western Health, please complete this quick survey as soon as possible. If you are yet to get vaccinated or are not intending to get vaccinated at this time, please also complete the survey.
This survey will also be sent to staff who are currently listed as not being vaccinated via a text message. When you complete the survey, if you declare that you have been vaccinated elsewhere, your records will be updated.
Changes to eligibility
From Monday 30 August, state-run vaccination centres have expanded access to the Pfizer vaccine for all individuals aged 16-39 years. All people in this age range can book appointment to get vaccinated via the online portal or 1800 675 398 hotline.
This means that:
- Victorians aged 16-59 years are now eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine
- Anyone aged 18-59 is able to choose to receive either Pfizer or AstraZeneca (AZ)
- People aged 18-39 who are due for their second dose (having already had one AZ) will be offered AZ
- People aged 60 and over will continue to receive AZ, if not eligible for Pfizer.
From Monday 30 August, state-run vaccination centres expanded access to the Pfizer vaccine for all individuals aged 16-39 years. All people in this age cohort can book an appointment to get vaccinated via the online portal or 1800 675 398 hotline.
AstraZeneca timing change
In order to ensure as many Victorians are fully vaccinated as soon as possible, a change has been made to the interval between AstraZeneca doses.
Effective from 2 September 2021, the interval between dose 1 and dose 2 of AstraZeneca vaccine has reduced from 12 weeks to 6 weeks. This will apply both to people making new AstraZeneca bookings, and those with existing dose 2 bookings.
This change applies only to state-run vaccination centres. A 12-week interval may continue to be applied to primary care GPs and pharmacies offering AstraZeneca.
Final year VCE student vaccination blitz
The Victorian Government has announced a vaccination blitz from 7-19 September that provides first-dose appointments to final year VCE students, with the aim of achieving full vaccination for as many students as possible before they sit their final exams.
Final year VCE students, year 11 students doing VCE Unit 3 and 4 subjects and staff required to supervise on-site examinations are eligible as part of this blitz.
More than 70,000 additional reserved first dose appointments have been added to accommodate the blitz. In addition, the Western Health Vaccination Team is providing onsite vaccination to four schools across the West Metro Region to support uptake of vaccination.
A dedicated Department of Health phoneline will be shared with students, staff and schools when bookings open. Students will also be able to book their second appointment through the call centre, and will have the option to book from three weeks to avoid appointments conflicting with their exams.
For more information, visit the quick reference guide.
Pop-up vaccination clinic at the Australian Islamic Centre
The Western Health Vaccination Team, in partnership with our community provider IPC Health, will be opening a pop-up vaccination service for the next two weeks at the Australian Islamic Centre in Newport. The service will provide priority access to vaccination over two weeks to eligible cohorts to enable opportunities for local communicates to be vaccinated closer to home with the support of community leaders.
A busy week ahead. Stay well and stay safe.
Regards,
Shane Crowe
Executive Director Nursing and Midwifery