COVID-19 vaccinations in Victoria
- As of Monday 4 October 2021, 82% of Victorians aged 16 and over have now had their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 52.1% are fully vaccinated.
- You can find full details of recent case numbers and hospitalisations in the Victorian Department of Health interactive daily report.
- Current exposure sites are published at Case alerts – Public exposure sites.
- COVID-19 special bulletin (1 October) for vaccine providers
- Dose interval changes
- Pfizer and Moderna eligibility for people 60 years and over
- Walk-ins open for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at all state vaccination centres
- Moderna vaccine guidance
- ATAGI advice on boosters and third doses
- Access to reserved Pfizer appointments
Mandatory healthcare worker vaccination update
- From 15 October 2021, all healthcare workers must have received at least the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine or have booked an appointment to receive at least their first COVID-19 vaccine by 29 October 2021, or have a medical exemption to be able to come to work.
- By 15 December 2021, all healthcare workers must provide their employer with evidence of their full COVID-19 vaccination of two doses or a medical exemption from an authorised medical practitioner.
- Operators of healthcare settings must also keep a record of their workers’ vaccination status in line with the direction issued by the Chief Health Officer.
- Find more information on the Victorian Government Coronavirus website.
Authorised workers: Mandatory vaccination requirements
- All workers in Melbourne and regional Victoria on the authorised worker list must have had their first COVID-19 vaccine dose by 15 October 2021 in order to continue working onsite.
- They will need to be fully vaccinated by 26 November 2021.
- Find more information on the Victorian Premier's website.
Victorian Specialist Immunisation Service Update: VicSIS eReferral coming soon
The VicSIS eReferral, a centralised referral and triage system, aims to improve efficiency for COVID-19 specialist immunisation services.
The Victorian Department of Health will start using the VicSIS eReferral during the week of 4 October 2021 (exact date to be announced early next week).
Once the VicSIS eReferral has launched, you’ll need to complete all referrals online via the VicSIS webpage. VicSIS Central will then assess all and, if eligible, they will be sent to the appropriate VicSIS clinic for further triage based on geographical location and/or speciality.
If a patient receives their regular clinical care at a health service at a VicSIS clinic hospital site or is known to a service, please indicate this in the eReferral.
Webinar recording: COVID-19 update
Watch the COVID-19 update webinar recorded on Wednesday 29 September 2021.
Healthcare worker contact assessment and management guidance for general practices
RACGP Victoria is working closely with the Victorian Department of Health to finalise guidance for general practices on assessing and managing healthcare worker contacts in a COVID-19 outbreak.
The guidance is due to be released on Wednesday 6 October and will include:
- an exposure event risk matrix to guide contact management (furlough) in COVID-19 outbreaks in general practices
- a recommended contact-management action table
- guidance on management if quarantine is required.
The guidance may be applied to situations when a healthcare worker has been exposed in a clinical setting or become a close contact due to a community-based exposure.
We will distribute the guidance as soon as it is finalized, and we will hold a member webinar on Wednesday 13 October (see below) to provide more information.