A MILDURA doctor says his clinic has received “strong” demand for the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine since it began administering the jab on Monday.
“The Pfizer has been going very well,” Lime Medical Clinic GP Dr John Dyson-Berry said.
“The people we saw (on Monday) were very happy to get it.”
On Monday the clinic began administering the vaccine for the first time, and will continue to deliver about 150 jabs a week as long as there is demand, he said.
The clinic is one of two GP clinics offering the vaccine in Mildura.
Dr Dyson-Berry had hoped his clinic would “take the pressure off” Sunraysia Community Health Services (SCHS), which has been offering both Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs at its vaccine sub-hub since June.
But the Pfizer rollout in Mildura may now be left to the GP clinics and Mallee District Aboriginal Services (MDAS) after SCHS announced on Tuesday the service would stop receiving bookings due to a lack of vaccine supply from the State Government.
GP clinics and MDAS receive their Pfizer supply from the Federal Government and Sunraysia Daily understands they are not affected by the State Government shortage.
Dr Dyson-Berry called on anyone eligible for either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine to come forward and make a booking, and said he was particularly keen to offer the jab to frontline health workers.
“People who missed out on the 1A (rollout) – aged care workers, paramedics, people with a disability – should be getting in touch,” he said.
His clinic was also reaching out to anyone eligible under the 1B rollout, including elderly people, younger adults with underlying medical conditions and essential services workers.
Since eligibility for the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine was expanded to people aged 18 to 40 last week, Dr Dyson-Berry said, “a number” of younger patients had come forward to get the jab.
“I saw one (young person) this morning who wanted to get AstraZeneca now rather than wait for Pfizer (when eligibility is expanded later in the year),” he said.
Dr Dyson-Berry encouraged anyone under 40 interested in getting the AstraZeneca jab to book in for a consultation.
To find out which vaccine you are eligible for, visit the vaccine eligibility checker.
