Public health update: Stay alert for meningococcal symptoms. Read more.
COVID cases in our region are increasing. Over the past two weeks to 5 December 2021 there have been 954 locally acquired cases in the CESPHN region, a 29% per cent increase over the previous period. The largest concentrations are in the LGAs of Canterbury-Bankstown (158), Sydney (141), Randwick (133), Sutherland (101) and Waverley (100). The omicron variant of COVID-19 has been detected in our region.
See here for information on the latest testing locations. Please remember to refer your patients to a GP respiratory clinic if they need a respiratory assessment. You can find contact details here.
People who are COVID positive and are assessed by the local health districts as low to medium risk can be managed at home under the care of their usual general practice via telehealth. The processes for managing COVID positive patients in the community are fully outlined in HealthPathways. See links below.
South Eastern Sydney HealthPathways
Within the region 87% of the population aged 15 and over have received one vaccine dose and 86% are fully vaccinated (a 1% increase from last week). 13% of the population remain unvaccinated.
Please continue to contact our practice support team via coronavirus@cesphn.com.au should you wish to transfer vaccine. We note many practices have established local arrangements to share vaccine while demand is low.
Vaccinating practices who would like to order smaller doses of Pfizer vaccine are asked to contact the PHN. If you would like to deliver the Moderna vaccine please also contact coronavirus@cesphn.com.au.
General practices and pharmacists are encouraged to review their patients and identify those who are unvaccinated or need a booster dose and arrange COVID-19 vaccination for them.
Schools in our region are being impacted by COVID outbreaks – it’s important that general practice be aware of the COVID-19 response protocols in schools – see Schools and Covid protocol – advice to families
The NSW Vaccine Centre will be accepting vaccine orders until midday Tuesday 21 December 2021. Deliveries will take place on Wednesday 22 December 2021. Orders placed after this time will be held for despatch from Tuesday 4 January 2022.
The Pfizer vaccine for children is a different formulation from the Pfizer vaccine approved for those aged 12 and over and comes in an orange-capped multidose vial, requires dilution, contains 10 doses per vial, and can be stored for up to 10 weeks at 2°C to 8°C. See product information. ATAGI has made recommendations for the use of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in children aged 5 to 11 years. Children will receive 2 doses of the vaccine, 8 weeks apart. The children’s dose is one third of the dose for people aged 12 years and over.
From 10 January 2022, Australia’s COVID-19 vaccination program will be extended to all children aged 5 to 11:
It is anticipated that the Pfizer for children training module will be available in late December 2021. It is essential that all health professional involved in administering this vaccine have completed this module prior to administering the vaccine. Watch NCIRS webinar recording to learn more about COVID vaccines for children aged 5-11 years.
For the first delivery of the Paediatric Pfizer vaccine:
Important note – Request for an additional order:
order through your Primary Health Network (PHNs) by midday AEDT Friday 17 December 2021.
Please email at coronavirus@cesphn.com.au to request an additional order.
PHNs will collate this information and provide this to the Taskforce for consideration.
Please do not make bookings based on these orders until they are confirmed.
To receive your first delivery in the week ending RDD 14 January 2022, please place your order between Saturday 18 December and midnight Friday 24 December 2021. Please note this delivery window differs from the Christmas ordering arrangements.
Note that these RDDs differ from the normal ordering cadence to allow time for batch testing of the first vaccines and to align with available supply.
While the Program is intended to commence from 10 January 2022 (and the estimated RDD of 7 January 2022 will enable that), you can commence administering your vaccines as soon as they are received, as long as you have completed the relevant training.
Please remember to complete a Delivery Acceptance Report the day you receive your vaccine, and a
Stock Management Report every Friday by 9pm.
Orders moving forward:
Your second order will align with the normal fortnightly ordering windows going forward, in which you order in the same week as you receive your vaccine delivery.
Further information:
You do not have to order immediately to retain your allocation. It is recommended that you complete your Pfizer declaration, if you have not done so already, to allow future orders to be placed or to receive excess Pfizer stock. If you are having difficulty placing an order, please contact the Vaccine Operations Centre (VOC) on 1800 318 208.
On 12 December, the recommended interval between a second dose COVID-19 vaccination and booster dose has been shortened from six to five months. Given the likelihood of ongoing transmission of both Omicron and Delta variants, ATAGI recommends anyone aged 18 and older receive their COVID-19 booster vaccination five months after their second dose vaccination. See ATAGI’s statement on the Omicron variant and timing of COVID-19 booster vaccination. Timely receipt of a booster dose is particularly important for people with increased exposure risk or who have risk factors for severe disease. Patients can book a booster appointment using the COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic Finder or call the dedicated COVID-19 Helpline on 1800 020 080.
In addition to the Pfizer vaccine, Spikevax (Moderna) vaccine is now also approved for use as a booster dose in people aged 18 years and older.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is not yet TGA approved as a booster but can be used as a booster for people who have contraindications to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines or who had AstraZeneca for their primary course.
The Department of Health has released four more COVID-19 vaccine information packs in Arabic, Assyrian, Chaldean and Mandarin/Simplified Chinese. The information packs include communication resources that provide key COVID-19 vaccines information, such as recent updates to the COVID-19 rollout, information about booster doses, information on pregnancy and COVID-19 vaccines, videos featuring community members explaining the importance of getting vaccinated and videos featuring doctors answering questions about COVID-19 vaccines. The kits can be viewed here in Arabic, Assyrian, Chaldean and Chinese.
CESPHN is pleased to offer general practices, community pharmacies and allied health the opportunity to have a specialised one-on-one consultation session with an experienced primary care infection control educator. This consult will enable your practice/pharmacy to:
Sessions will be via ‘Zoom’ and will be up to 50 minutes in duration and can be recorded for later use. The aim of these sessions is to support practices and community pharmacies to ensure they have the strongest infection procedures in place and provide tips for improvement where needed. If you would like more information or would like to book a consultation, please email your interest to coronavirus@cesphn.com.au and in the subject line write: “Yes I would like infection control advice”.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) packages including surgical and N95/P2 masks, are 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.
Speak up for the community: Do you know someone who could give great input about health needs and services? voices4health is the place where people living in central and eastern Sydney can contribute to decision-making about health needs and services in the area where they live. This is a place…
St George Hospital virtual tour South East Sydney Local Health District (SESLHD) have released a suite of virtual tour videos of the new St George redevelopment. These videos have been created in four different languages: Mandarin Cantonese Ukrainian English Mandarin Cantonese Ukrainian English Visit the South East Sydney Local District…
Stay alert for meningococcal symptoms NSW Health is urging health professionals to be on alert for symptoms of meningococcal disease and act immediately if they appear after the notification of three recent cases. So far this year, there have been 19 cases of meningococcal disease reported in NSW. The majority…
Nominate or Apply for the 2023 CESPHN Primary Health Awards: The annual Central and Eastern Sydney PHN (CESPHN) Health Awards recognises primary health care professionals and organisations that have provided exceptional service or an outstanding contribution to primary health care in the Central and Eastern region of Sydney during the…
Speak up for the Community: Are you interested in having a say about health needs and health services in your area? voices4health is the place where people living in central and eastern Sydney can contribute to decision-making about health needs and services in the area where they live. This is…
FIVE QUESTIONS is where we ask members of the community to talk about how they stay HEALTHY. General Manager First Nations Fashion + Design and Wiradjuri Woman living on Dharawal Country Emma Griggs (pictured below at the recent Australian Fashion Week 2023 at Carriageworks, Gadigal land), shared this: 1. What did…
