COVID-19 update – 11 August 2021

11 August 2021

NSW COVID-19 outbreak

There are now 6,149 locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in NSW reported since 16 June 2021. Click here for all the latest information relating to the NSW outbreak including case locations and alerts. Over the past two weeks to 8 August 2021 there have been 760 locally acquired cases in the CESPHN region. The largest concentrations are in the following Local Government Areas (LGAs) Canterbury-Bankstown (424), Bayside (76) Georges River (73), Inner West (65), Strathfield (45) and Sydney (28).

See here or check our website for information on the latest testing locations and new community pop up vaccination locations.

Vaccination rollout progress in our region 

In the last week, CESPHN estimates an additional 72,374 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered to people living in the CESPHN region. Of these additional doses, 42 per cent were AstraZeneca vaccines and 58 per cent were Pfizer vaccines.

The Department of Health have released a new vaccination rate report (9 August) listing the percentage of people aged 15 and over who have been vaccinated against COVID-19, by geographic regions and whether they’ve had one dose or are fully vaccinated.

Additional PPE available

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) packages including surgical and N95/P2 masks, gloves, gowns and goggles will be made available for community pharmacies and those GPs who continue to see their patients within their practices. PPE guidelines can be found here.

CESPHN will continue to distribute these supplies. To order PPE for your practice or pharmacy click here.

NSW Health walk-in vaccination clinics

NSW Health walk-in vaccination clinics in Greater Sydney are offering COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccines to anyone aged 18 years and over.

The Local Health District Facebook pages are also updated regularly with details of new pop-up clinic locations:

• SLHD: facebook.com/SydneyLHD
• SESLHD: facebook.com/SESLHD

Walk-in AstraZeneca vaccination clinic in Hurstville

There is a new walk-in AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic in Hurstville at Marana Auditorium, Hurstville Entertainment Centre. No bookings are required and this clinic is accessible to people who don’t have a Medicare card.

Aged care and disability staff

There is a pop-up COVID-19 vaccination site in Ashfield open ONLY for workers of residential aged care facilities and disability group homes. This new vaccination hub for workers in residential aged care facilities and disability group homes is running between 9:00am and 4:00pm Monday to Friday. There is a pop-up COVID-19 vaccination site in Burwood for use ONLY by NDIS participants and their support staff/carers.

CESPHN is working with general practices to coordinate on-site vaccination clinics in residential aged care facilities across the region.

Call-out for GPs, pharmacists, nurses and other health professionals to assist in vaccination

 We are maintaining a register of GPs, pharmacists, nurses and other allied health professionals who are available to work shifts in COVID vaccination clinics. Please complete this form if you are interested. Thank you to all those of you have already registered.

Medicare billing for COVID-19 vaccinations

Medicare have updated their Frequently Asked Questions for COVID-19 vaccinations. Click here to view the FAQ document. 

ALL COVID-19 vaccination services must be bulk-billed. COVID-19 vaccination cannot be made contingent on any other service or fee including:

• Patient registration fees for patients new to a practice;
• Book-keeping or registration fees for the appointment;
• General health checks (these should be incorporated into the bulk-billed patient eligibility assessment or bulk billed in-depth patient assessment); or
• Any other service which the practice or practitioner requires before any COVID-19 MBS item.

Who is eligible for Pfizer?

The Department of Health has released a fact sheet which outlines who is currently eligible to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

Access to Pfizer vaccine – 60 years+

NSW Health has updated the referral process and referral form for patients aged ≥ 60 years who meet ATAGI criteria for Pfizer vaccination. Patients can use the referral form to access Pfizer vaccination at a NSW Health vaccination clinic or Commonwealth vaccination clinic, if their regular GP does not have access to Pfizer vaccination.

See local Health Pathways site for more information on how to make a referral:

• Sydney HealthPathways
• South Eastern Sydney HealthPathways

Policy on drive-through COVID-19 vaccination clinics

 The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) released a statement on establishing drive-through COVID-19 vaccination clinic sites outlining:

• General principles for drive-through COVID-19 vaccination clinics
• Considerations for selecting a suitable site for drive-through vaccination clinics
• Co-location with COVID-19 testing sites
• Considerations for ensuring safety in drive-through vaccination clinics

COVID-19 live stream update for GPs

Join the latest COVID-19 vaccine live stream update for GPs. The panel will provide latest key updates and answer participants’ questions live about the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. Get involved by submitting questions and comments!

Details: Thursday 12 August, 11:30am (AEDT) | Click link to join

Catch up on previous webinars.

Additional resources

Last week the Federal Government released modelling from the Doherty Institute that will be used to guide Australia’s further response to COVID-19. You can find a link to the report here.

Dr Lucas De Toca and colleagues answer the top 3 COVID-19 vaccine questions in this video:

1. Why are some people having to wait a little longer than expected to get the COVID-19 vaccine?
2. What are the things I can do to support my mental health and wellbeing during uncertain times?
3. Why should I get vaccinated if I have already had COVID-19 and recovered?

COVID-19 Vaccination Community Information session in Mandarin 

The Multicultural Health Service is presenting its first community language COVID-19 Vaccination Community Information session in Mandarin on Thursday 12 August. This session will be presented by bilingual health professionals from South Eastern Sydney Local Health District, and will answer your questions about:

• Why should I get vaccinated?
• Which vaccine is best for me?
• Where can I get vaccinated?
• How do I prepare for my vaccination?

Getting vaccinated is an important way to protect yourself, your family and your community. The session is FREE and open to ALL members of the community and will be presented in Mandarin.

When: Thursday 12 August, 6.00 pm to 7.00 pm

Click here to join the webinar.

Click here for more information.