COVID 19 VACCINE UPDATE
As of 29th October 2022, Blackbutt Doctors Surgery will no longer be offering the COVID-19 Vaccine at our practice. All patients will be directed to their local pharmacy to arrange any further vaccine appointments. You can use the Online Vaccine Clinic Finder to find your closest pharmacy that offers the vaccine.
Find a vaccine clinic
The Vaccine Clinic Finder is the best way to find and book a COVID-19 vaccine appointment.
In Australia, all COVID-19 vaccines are free.
Have you tested positive for COVID-19 on a rapid antigen test? You should register a positive rapid antigen test result online as soon as possible.
Visit the Service NSW website or App to register your positive result.
Have you tested positive for COVID? Use this adult self-assessment tool to assess your risk of severe COVID-19 illness
If you have tested positive for COVID-19, and are one of the patients of our surgery.
Please book a Telehealth appointment in order for us to asses the severity of your illness, and give you information regarding how to monitor for any deterioration.
The public health unit will only be contacting those it deems to be high risk, so if you need advise, please book a Telehealth appointment with ourselves.
For further advice, please see the link below: https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/coronavirus-covid-19-self…
COVID-19 vaccines will be available for children ages 5 years to 11 years starting in January. We are excited to offer vaccines at our practice to help protect your child from COVID-19.
If you would like to book your child in you can now reserve a dose on our website or our mobile app called AMS Connect by selecting the COVID Vaccine service and then the appropriate appointment type.
If your child is a new patient to the practice, please email Dr Wendy Bridges at wendyb@blackbuttdoctors.com.au who will advise you further.
Once stock arrives you will receive an SMS invitation to book your appointment. Your dose 2 will be automatically reserved and you will receive another SMS message once you are due.
Please do not call us to book as reception will not be able to do this.
IMPORTANT POLICY ON MASKS:
It is the policy of this practice that everybody wears a mask while on the premises. This helps us to comply with strict workplace health and safety obligations and also helps us to provide safe care to all.
If you are unable or unwilling to wear a mask, please advise us before you come to the practice. This will enable us to plan your care in the way that is safest for all.
This means we may offer you:
- Telehealth appointment;
OR
- An appointment at a time and place that minimises contact with others (for example, we may ask you to wait in your car without waiting in waiting room; or we may see you in a room in the pharmacy).
Wearing masks help decrease the spread of infectious diseases, like COVID-19.
There are very limited circumstances where an exemption is appropriate and rarely will our doctors be able to provide you with one.
If you require evidence that you have a condition that makes wearing a mask unsuitable, you can also seek assistance from a registered NDIS provider or sign a statutory declaration, which does not require input from a doctor.
We are happy to provide a copy of your health summary if you need to verify your health conditions.
IMPORTANT ASTRA ZENECA VACCINE UPDATE:
We are bringing the due date for dose 2 of the Astra Zeneca vaccine forward to be 6 weeks from when dose 1 was given, due to the current COVID climate and our lock down.
Patients who have a reserved dose should receive a sms text in the next few days inviting them to book an appointment.
COVID Vaccine Information
Please click through the side menus below to access information regarding how each patient type can book their vaccine appointment at Blackbutt, as well as detailed safety information regarding the vaccine.
The COVID Vaccine is a two dose Vaccine
The Government funded COVID Vaccine is a two-dose vaccine. It provides some protection with one dose, but a more long-lasting protection can be provided if you have another dose 12 weeks or so later. Blackbutt Doctors are delivering 100 vaccines per week from our surgery from March 22nd. This is all that we have been supplied by the government at present and at this rate, it will take around 20 weeks to vaccinate just the patients we are aware of in our surgery who meet the phase 1b criteria, let alone others in our community who may need vaccination in this phase.
It is possible that some people will be getting their second dose before others have had their first dose, and it is possible that some people may get their second dose more than 12 weeks after receiving their 1st.
After you have received your first dose of the COVID-19 Vaccine you will receive an sms with a link to book your second dose. If you haven’t received an sms but think you should have please contact the surgery on 49509733 to discuss this further.
The vaccine will start working about 12 days after your first vaccination injection.
Please be patient. We are doing our absolute best to get our patients and community vaccinated and protected from COVID as quickly and efficiently as possible with the vaccine stock we are provided.
Vaccine Side Effects
While the COVID-19 vaccine is not compulsory, receiving it is the best way to prevent symptomatic COVID disease and is very likely to protect you against getting very sick with COVID and potentially dying from the disease.
However, receiving the COVID Vaccine won’t prevent you from getting a mild illness, and potentially passing it to others. This means that even after we have all received the COVID vaccine, we will still need to stay at home if we are ill and observe all of the other hygiene measures we have learned in the last year, like social distancing, using hand sanitiser and wearing face masks when appropriate.
The COVID vaccine is very safe. Tens of millions of people around the world have received the vaccine already, and so we know a lot about it and are continuing to monitor its safety as it is rolled out nationally. As with all vaccines, there are some mild side effects which some people may experience. For example, it is common after any vaccination to have a headache, muscle aches, tiredness, mild fever and a sore red or itchy place where you had the vaccine injected.
It is not normal for these things to last more than 48 hours though so if you experience these symptoms, keep an eye on them and see a Doctor if they last beyond this timeframe. It is not usual to have a cough, runny nose, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhoea, or prolonged, high fever. These things would probably be from another sickness, not COVID vaccination, so if they occur, seek medical attention.
You can use the COVID-19 vaccine side effects symptom checker if you have concerns about any symptoms after your vaccine: https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/covid-19-vaccine-side-effect-checker
The checker is also available through the National Coronavirus Helpline, 1800 020 080, 24 hours a day.
https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/covid-19-vaccination-after-your-astrazeneca-vaccine
Vaccine Components
The active ingredient in the COVID Vaccine is the modified adenovirus (ChAdOx1) containing spike protein genetic code, a genetically modified organism (GMO) (AstraZeneca, 2021). Other non-active ingredients are included to stabilise the vaccine (listed below). No preservatives are used:
- L-Histidine (an amino acid).
- L-Histidine hydrochloride monohydrate (an amino acid).
- Magnesium chloride hexahydrate (supports many activities inside cells).
- Polysorbate 80 (a stabiliser).
- Ethanol.
- Sucrose.
- Sodium chloride.
- Disodium edetate dihydrate (EDTA, a binding agent)
- Water for injection.
(AstraZeneca, 2021)
None of the vaccine ingredients are of human or animal origin and there are no food, latex or gelatin in the COVID-19 vaccines that are currently available. If individuals have had an allergic reaction to other vaccines in the past, it does not mean that they will also be allergic to the COVID-19 vaccines (Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy [ASCIA], 2021).
Further Safety Information
- AstraZeneca is recommended for all patients over the age of 60.
- Pfizer is recommended for all patients under the age of 60.
- Second dose of AstraZeneca is recommended for all patients who have received dose one of AstraZeneca.
- These changes are effective immediately due to the advice from Australian Government.
At present it is not recommended for pregnant and breastfeeding women. If you have other medication, food or immunisation allergies, you can have the vaccine, but may need to be observed for 30 instead of 15 mins after vaccination. Please discuss with the nurse on the day of vaccination to book an appointment with your own doctor before your vaccination to discuss your personal medical situation and any questions you may have.
The only people who definitely can’t have the vaccine are those who suffered an anaphylaxis after the first dose, or those who are allergic to a component of the vaccine – see our website for details on the vaccine’s components.
That being said, the rate of anaphylaxis to the vaccine is about 5 in every million doses given. Which is similar to other vaccines we give. Most people who are able to have the yearly flu vaccine, will be able to have the COVID vaccine without experiencing severe reactions.
If you have concerns or questions about the vaccine please book an appointment with you doctors to discuss what is right for you and your health before booking a vaccine appointment.
COVID-19 Resources & Downloads
Click on the links below to download any of the PDF resources available.
