These bulletins contain the latest updates on COVID-19 and the national rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in Australia.
These updates are current as at Friday 29 October 2021.
The RACGP’s COVID-19 vaccine information for GPs and COVID-19 information for GPs webpages are updated as new information becomes available.
Plan for caring for COVID-19-positive patients in the community
Following advocacy from the RACGP, the Federal Government has announced a package of new measures to help GPs care for COVID-19-positive patients in the community:
- Primary Health Networks will provide GPs who are supervising COVID-19-positive patients with pulse oximeters (small devices usually placed on a patient’s fingertip to measure oxygen saturation).
- A new MBS item of $25 will reimburse general practices for the additional cost of treating COVID-19-positive patients in person while maintaining COVID-safe infection-prevention and control measures.
- 150 GP-led respiratory clinics will continue operating until 30 June 2022.
As our most populous cities open up again after lockdowns, COVID-19 cases are expected to spike significantly. While the RACGP is still calling for additional support, including ongoing hotspot arrangements for telehealth and additional PPE, this is a welcome start. These new measures are intended to support the growing numbers of patients who will contract the virus and require careful monitoring outside the hospital system.
Providing GPs with pulse oximeters will help you monitor any deterioration in a patient’s condition so you can escalate care if necessary, and the new MBS item will help offset the cost of maintaining a safe environment for all practice staff. Respiratory clinics will also help general practice care for people with mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms, and they can be scaled up to assess and manage more patients as case numbers escalate.
Find out more
COVID-19 vaccine booster program officially starts Monday 8 November, but practices can start earlier
Following recent approval by the TGA, ATAGI has released recommendations on the use of a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
The recommendations include that:
- Pfizer is recommended as a single booster dose, no matter which vaccine was administered as the primary course (some provisions for use of AstraZeneca are outlined)
- the booster dose can be administered from six months after completing the primary course
- a booster dose is not currently recommended for people under 18 years of age
- the booster dose can be co-administered with the influenza vaccine
- severely immunocompromised patients who receive a third dose as part of their primary course are not currently recommended to have a fourth dose.
ATAGI notes that the highest-priority groups to receive booster doses are those with risk factors for severe COVID-19 and/or those at increased occupational risk of COVID-19. This aligns with those individuals who were eligible first during the initial rollout of vaccination in early 2020.
The Department of Health (DoH) will write to general practices confirming that, although the booster program officially starts on Monday 8 November 2021, practices that have available stock, eligible patients and capacity can begin administering booster doses immediately.
The DoH is currently updating associated guidance and the consent form to align with the new recommendations.
The booster dose will be funded at the same rate as the second dose. The RACGP is disappointed the government has not agreed to our proposed funding increase and will continue to advocate for better funding for general practice participation in the vaccine rollout, including administering booster doses.
We’ll update our COVID-19 vaccine information for GPs webpage as more information becomes available and DoH resources are updated.
Read the recommendations