28 October 2021

RACGP: General practice needs more support for booster vaccines

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) is warning that GPs will need more support to deliver COVID-19 booster vaccines in the months ahead.

This morning, the Government announced that booster doses will commence on 8 November this year. It follows the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s decision yesterday to approve a booster dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 18 and over. Earlier this year, the Government also announced that severely immunocompromised patients can receive a third primary dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

RACGP President Dr Karen Price said that GPs across Australia needed a helping hand.

“General practices have done a remarkable job delivering vaccines so far,” she said.

“I am immensely proud of all the general practice teams who have worked so hard in very trying circumstances to get the job done – you are truly the unheralded heroes of this rollout.

“Given the enormous pressures practices are facing and the huge task ahead of us, we fought for a boost in funding to deliver the booster vaccines. Unfortunately, today’s announcement does not feature any new funding for practices delivering these boosters.

“Instead, it will be funded at the same rate as the second dose but without the COVID-19 Vaccine General Practice Incentive of $10, which is paid to eligible practices where the patient received both a first dose and second dose at the same practice.

“If practices did have access to what we call ‘Level C’ Medicare rebates, which are for consultations lasting at least 20 minutes, for these booster vaccines – that would make a real difference. We advocated for this because we expect that patients will come to us with many questions about the booster vaccine.

“People are already suffering from vaccine ‘information overload’ after a long year trying to understand the various changes to the vaccine rollout and what it means for them and their loved ones. Many will have just received their second dose, and now they are being told they need to go for a third dose. GPs and general practice teams will need to take the time to carefully lay out for patients why a booster vaccine is necessary and answer any queries.

“Contrary to what some public figures have said, GPs are not participating in the vaccine rollout for the money by any stretch. COVID-19 is the public health emergency of a lifetime, and we want to contribute to the vaccine rollout to protect our patients, especially vulnerable groups such as older people and the immunocompromised.

“That said, general practices are small businesses, and we do need to make ends meet. Extra funding often allows practices to run additional vaccination clinics, including on weekends and after-hours.

“It has been a challenging time for GPs, practice managers, nurses, receptionists and admin workers dealing with not only an unprecedented pandemic, but also the largest vaccine rollout Australia has seen, and all the while maintaining usual care for our patients.

“General practice teams have had to manage threatening and abusive patients and find ways to absorb the cost of delivering millions of vaccines nation-wide, with some practices actually losing money delivering the vaccines.

“Given that we will be responsible for delivering booster vaccines, caring for a surging caseload of patients who have delayed or avoided screenings and consults during the pandemic, and helping people emerging from lockdown with mental health concerns all on top of the usual day-to-day care we provide – I think we need more support.

“We have a herculean workload ahead of us and practices deserve more. To all GPs and practice teams, once again I say thank you and keep up the great work. I know it has been a very long year and, in time, I hope more people appreciate the sacrifices you have made in taking part in the vaccine rollout.”


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