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General practices to receive response on COVID EOIs imminently
Hundreds of general practices will be involved in the initial vaccine rollout, with numbers ramping up as more doses become available.
All practices that submitted successful expressions of interest will be informed early next week.
According to the Department of Health (DoH), all practices that submitted successful expressions of interest (EOIs) will be notified at the same time, but commencement dates will be staggered in line with vaccine availability.
The DoH also revealed that this communication will occur early next week and that practices will be selected for the initial stages of the rollout based on readiness, capacity and throughput, and geographical location.
RACGP Board member Dr Sean Stevens told newsGP the college is appreciative of the working relationship with Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt Minister and the DoH, and is eagerly awaiting the results of the EOIs.
‘We’re heartened to hear that the practices that have submitted an EOI will find out by next week,’ he said.
‘We look forward to receiving further information as soon as it becomes available, and we will be communicating this to members through all the channels we have as we recognise how important this issue is to general practice and in fact, the nation.
‘We’ve also been very impressed with the willingness of general practice to put themselves forward in this nation-changing endeavour, to make sure that our population is fully vaccinated and kept safe as soon as possible.’
The RACGP understands that ultimately, any practice that submitted an EOI and meets the criteria, will have the opportunity to be involved at some stage.
While more than 5000 practices submitted EOIs to take part in the COVID vaccine rollout, numbers will be restricted during the first stages of the rollout as initial supplies of the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine will be limited as they arrive from overseas.
However, the DoH has told newsGP it expects local vaccine manufacturer CSL will be able to produce 1 million doses per week by May, which will dramatically increase the number of practices able to participate.
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