GPs to receive access to Moderna, DoH confirms

GPs are set to have access to a third vaccine – and a second mRNA option – with the Department of Health (DoH) confirming Moderna will soon be available across primary care.
 
‘It is anticipated that all interested and eligible general practices will be able to express an interest in receiving a Moderna allocation via their PHN shortly, and will be transitioned over the coming weeks,’ a DoH spokesperson told newsGP on the weekend.
 
Moderna was initially limited to Australian pharmacies and later made available in some state-run vaccination clinics, with general practices having been allocated Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines.
 
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt flagged the idea of Moderna being made available in general practice last week when asked whether pharmacists will have access to Pfizer to aid in the country’s upcoming COVID vaccine booster program.
 
‘We will be making Pfizer available to pharmacies and we will be making Moderna available to those GPs that wish to put it in place, particularly in some rural areas or more remote areas,’ he told reporters on Wednesday 27 October. ‘There’s an interest in Moderna for GPs.’
 
RACGP President Dr Karen Price has welcomed the news, which comes after strong college advocacy.
 
‘The RACGP’s position has been that GPs should have access to all approved vaccines, so patients have all options available to them through their usual and trusted general practice,’ she told newsGP.
 
‘GPs have already administered more than half of the country’s COVID vaccines since the beginning of the rollout, so adding another option for patients will only further our efforts to get as many jabs into as many arms as possible.
 
‘Much like AstraZeneca and Pfizer, Moderna is an excellent vaccine that is incredibly safe and effective. Anecdotal evidence suggests some patients in general practice have expressed an interest in receiving Moderna, so this decision will be welcome news to GPs across Australia.’
 
While Pfizer is currently the only vaccine approved for use as a booster shot in Australia, it is anticipated Moderna will soon apply to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for its own registration of booster doses.
 
Australia’s COVID vaccine booster program is set to get underway from 8 November, with GPs to play a central role.
 
The booster program will see people aged over 18 eligible for a third vaccine dose six months after the second dose of their primary vaccination course. The aged care and disability sectors are set to be targeted for the first phase of the program.
 
Log in below to join the conversation.

COVID-19 Moderna Pfizer vaccine rollout