By Juliano Oliveira
Researches of the University of New South Wales (UNSW) have affirmed that 200,000 adults must be vaccinated a day if the Federal Government wants to meet its October target.
As the authorities plan to rollout the vaccination campaign in late February, and the government wants to immunize 20 million adult Australians with two doses each in around eight months, the researches classified such process as an “immense logistical challenge.”
The health care system will have to quickly develop an efficient method to deliver around 200,000 doses a day and sustain that rate for several months.
“Two hundred thousand vaccinations a day is a truly furious pace. It’s possible, but will require dedicated large-scale vaccination sites capable of delivering thousands of doses a week in addition to the enthusiastic participation of general practices and community pharmacies countrywide,” the scientists said.
“Our analysis finds 200,000 daily vaccinations from March would comfortably meet the October 2021 deadline. On the other hand, a rate of 80,000 per day — still seven times the PM’s starting point [of 80,000] — would see the rollout drag on until mid-2022.”
The scientists call attention to the fact that the recruitment process of 1,000 GPs and community pharmacies to join the vaccination rollout effort is currently underway.
“Even if half of the 5,800 pharmacies across Australia joined with the targeted 1,000 GPs, each location would still need to administer an average of 50 doses per day, seven days a week, for about six months.”
To remedy any shortage of vaccination sites, the government must follow the example proposed in the 2018 NSW Health Influenza Pandemic Plan.
“In a dedicated centre, trained nurses could vaccinate at a rate of between 80-100 people per hour. A similar approach in the UK has seen conference centres, sports stadiums, churches and mosques all co-opted as mass vaccination hubs, to great effect,” explained the scientists.