I am continually being lectured by both the govt. and health experts that I need to get vaccinated ASAP as I am over 60 and deemed to be in a higher risk category. For weeks I have visited the govt.s health website every day, I enter my details and I a list comes up of vaccination places supposedly available in my area. Unfortunately they either say no appointments are available or due to  vaccine shortages only current patients will be accepted. I have phoned a number of these practices on the list which say available after 30 days and get told the same thing. Last week the govt.s Newcastle 20,000/wk vacination hub opened only 2kms down the road in Belmont, Lake Macquarie. For some reason it wasnt appearing on my list even though friends and family were telling me that they were able to book in using the website. As an excercise I changed my age to 59 and all of a sudden it came up and I could choose a date and time that suited me.  Too bad I'm over 60 - I dont have a choice to get the Pfiser vaccine and apparently thats all they are doing at the hub even though its being rammed down our throat by the talking heads on the daily covid updates that there is an over abundance of Astra Zeneca available. Our GP is not on the list as he has a single doctor practice and was not part of the govt.s program.

IMHO the vacination roll out has been an absolute joke since it started..

BB

-- Edited by The Belmont Bear on Tuesday 20th of July 2021 03:14:05 PM

I just looked and found some. I entered an age of 62, and answered New Patient if the system asked.

Charlestown Square has first available 4 August. Travel a bit further to Callaghan. The University Health Service could do it tomorrow.

Admittedly, there are none listed on future days .... at present.

Mayfield supposedly within 7 days but it asked for my details, so I did not proceed.

I know it's a bit further, and in the opposite direction, but The Entrance could do it today. Lots of appointments available. Maybe there is somewhere closer, but if you want it you can have it.

Are We Lost wrote:

---

I just looked and found some. I entered an age of 62, and answered New Patient if the system asked.

Charlestown Square has first available 4 August. Travel a bit further to Callaghan. The University Health Service could do it tomorrow.

 

Admittedly, there are none listed on future days .... at present.

Mayfield supposedly within 7 days but it asked for my details, so I did not proceed.

I know it's a bit further, and in the opposite direction, but The Entrance could do it today. Lots of appointments available. Maybe there is somewhere closer, but if you want it you can have it.

 

-- Edited by Are We Lost on Tuesday 20th of July 2021 04:02:59 PM

---

Thanks up until now I haven't even been able to open the booking link for the Charelstown Square surgery and that was the first place I tried after our friends (existing patients) got theirs from their vaccine clinic. I just tried again and as you said bookings are now possible but not until the 4th August providing I take along a health report from my GP. I haven't tried the Uni as its a little bit out of our area but I will check it out if it comes up on the list. No way would we consider travelling to the Entrance or anywhere else on the Central Coast as the area is currently classified as being in the greater Sydney red zone.

The main point I was making was that I am literally 2 minutes down the road from the NSW govts new state of the art vaccine hub which they say is capable of delivering up to 20,000 jabs a week, its equiped with permanent doctors, nurses a pharmacy etc, etc but for some reason they are not giving out any Astra Zeneca shots. Why not - they keep telling us that they have plenty of it available, it wouldn't take them any longer to give it would only be a matter of which bottle they got it out of ? It doesn't give me a lot of confidence when the NSW govt. won't even use AZ in their own facility. Instead of running around the place chasing it (during a time when we are supposed to be limiting our movements) maybe I will just sit tight until they lift this stupid restriction on us over 60s getting access to the Pfizer hopefully as the supply increases it will only be a month or two away..

BB

The Belmont Bear wrote:

---

I am continually being lectured by both the govt. and health experts that I need to get vaccinated ASAP as I am over 60 and deemed to be in a higher risk category. For weeks I have visited the govt.s health website every day, I enter my details and I a list comes up of vaccination places supposedly available in my area. Unfortunately they either say no appointments are available or due to  vaccine shortages only current patients will be accepted. I have phoned a number of these practices on the list which say available after 30 days and get told the same thing. Last week the govt.s Newcastle 20,000/wk vacination hub opened only 2kms down the road in Belmont, Lake Macquarie. For some reason it wasnt appearing on my list even though friends and family were telling me that they were able to book in using the website. As an excercise I changed my age to 59 and all of a sudden it came up and I could choose a date and time that suited me.  Too bad I'm over 60 - I dont have a choice to get the Pfiser vaccine and apparently thats all they are doing at the hub even though its being rammed down our throat by the talking heads on the daily covid updates that there is an over abundance of Astra Zeneca available. Our GP is not on the list as he has a single doctor practice and was not part of the govt.s program.

IMHO the vacination roll out has been an absolute joke since it started..

BB

---

have you contacted your GP?  Mine vaccinated me at a time and place that suited me - I don't know why people get hung on the vaccination hubs when there are so many GP's that can do it.  And my GP bulk bills, the vaccine is free and so was the visit

As I mentioned in my earlier posts our GP doesn't do vaccinations as he has a single doctor practice (and he doesnt bulk bill),  I am having difficulty finding a GP that accepts people not already on their books because they say they only have enough supply to do their own.. We weren't that concerned because we knew that the hub was due to open I couldnt believe the hypocrisy when I found out that they were not even going to give the Astra Zeneca shots. There are a couple of places in the area that take bookings as new patients but we need a medical report from our current GP before they accept us. My wife went down to our GPs surgery this morning to get a report but the receptionist told her that we need to make an appointment - I'm guessing that it this is going to cost us for at least one consultation. 

I have just been watching the NSW health ministers daily update on the ABC telling everyone that there is plenty of Astra Zeneca available from both GPs and the state vaccination hubs - obviously he is not being correctly informed because right now our hub isnt even doing AZ.  So Trevor like a lot of our friends you were lucky for people like us it has not been as simple as just walking into our GP and getting a jab at zero cost, first we had to find a practice prepared to take us which was almost impossible when vaccine supplys were scarce, now that the vaccine is becoming more available we find that we will need to have a health report to get one.. 

BB

Why don't you book at one of the places I suggested before? The University Health Service can do it next week without any prerequistes.

Are We Lost I already gave you feedback on Charlestown Square they require a health report from our GP which we are currently in the process of getting. When I entered my details into the govt.s website the Uni did not come up on their list of 50 places that should be available for us to get a jab so I went directly into the Unis own website and it says that the service is available for students and staff of the university. For me that seems like its a prerequisite...maybe they do other people but it doesnt say that anywhere.

BB

"Our medical centre is similar to a general doctors surgery and open to both university students and staff. We are happy to see you about any issue that concerns you. Some of the areas we can help include: * treatment of illnesses and injuries * women's health care including contraception, pap smears, pregnancy testing and advice, and antenatal care * testing and counselling for sexually transmitted infections * vaccinations, including travel immunisations and advice * immunisations required for students in health related programs * skin checks * assistance with emotional and personal difficulties * mental health services * referral to specialists, imaging services, pathology and physiotherapy All consultations are strictly confidential."

Are We Lost wrote:

---

If you enter your location as Newcastle it comes up on the government booking site. The image I pasted was from there. New patient, age 62 and no mention of any prerequisites. Anyway, I will leave it to you.

---

Rather than just whinging on the forum about getting access to GPs or the riduculous situation with the new hub not even doing Astra Zeneca jabs I decided to write to our local MP (state member for Swansea). I got  a nice reply back and a copy of this letter that she has now sent to the minister involved it would appear that I have not been the only one having problems in this area with accessing the AZ vaccine. 

BB

The Belmont Bear wrote:

---

Are We Lost wrote:

---

If you enter your location as Newcastle it comes up on the government booking site. The image I pasted was from there. New patient, age 62 and no mention of any prerequisites. Anyway, I will leave it to you.

---

Rather than just whinging on the forum about getting access to GPs or the riduculous situation with the new hub not even doing Astra Zeneca jabs I decided to write to our local MP (state member for Swansea). I got  a nice reply back and a copy of this letter that she has now sent to the minister involved it would appear that I have not been the only one having problems in this area with accessing the AZ vaccine. 

BB

 

---

 Hi BB,

Forgive me if I have missed something but we were in a very similar position as you whereby our GP could not /would not do Covid Vaccinations.

We took similar advice from friends as was offered to you by Are We Lost and just went to a centre that was doing the Vaccination.

You may be waiting for months for an explanation from politicians which in the end may not even change the result.

Of course, it is your choice.

You guys are right we have found somewhere to do our vaccinations even though we needed to get a health report to take with us.  The point I was making is why do we have to hunt around outside of the area when a so called state of the art hub has opened down the road whose only purpose in life is to carry out covid vaccinations. Keep in mind it may be easy for us to jump in our car and travel somewhere outside of the area to attend a clinic but there are people who may not have that same luxury. The decision by ?? not to administer Astra Zeneca at the new hub probably wont change before we get our vaccinations but judging by the letter there are plenty of other people who could benefit from changing that decision.

BB

The Belmont Bear wrote:

---

You guys are right we have found somewhere to do our vaccinations even though we needed to get a health report to take with us.  The point I was making is why do we have to hunt around outside of the area when a so called state of the art hub has opened down the road whose only purpose in life is to carry out covid vaccinations. Keep in mind it may be easy for us to jump in our car and travel somewhere outside of the area to attend a clinic but there are people who may not have that same luxury. The decision by ?? not to administer Astra Zeneca at the new hub probably wont change before we get our vaccinations but judging by the letter there are plenty of other people who could benefit from changing that decision.

BB

-- Edited by The Belmont Bear on Friday 23rd of July 2021 11:16:48 AM

---

BB

 You brought up one point and that is we had to have our medical history onforwarded to the other facility before we could have the vaccine.

Not withstanding peoples basic safety, this delay could have been avoided if every doctor in Australia were given the go ahead without all these complicated procedures so as their own patients could have received the jab.

In our case we have had the standard flu vaccine at our own GPs surgery every year but this year when we asked about the Covid shot, the administering nurse suggested in a round about way, that it might be based on the price the govt were prepared to pay to GPs for the Covid shot as compared to the flu shot.

The administering of the vaccine for Covid most certainly involves a lot more behind the scenes paperwork let alone the interview by a doctor, than does the administering of many other vaccines.

As well we should not forget that the storage temperature required for Pfizer is not possible in some facilities.

Rob Driver wrote:

---

it might be based on the price the govt were prepared to pay to GPs for the Covid shot as compared to the flu shot.

---

 The government must be using a whiteboard to budget covid.

My calculations. For argument we want to have 20 million vaccinated & it's costing $2 billion a week for the country not functioning. Let alone all the other  long term heath issues.

That is $100 cost per week per person.

To me it seems a no brainer to pay doctors more.

Of course doctors will recommend you get the jab,silly not too.

It is free in Victoria too,the Govt.pays,so we all pay somewhere down the line.