I would not trust my fumbling premier and especially not Dr Stephen Miles (Doctorate of Union Renewal) of establishing anything like the hubs that you espouse, given their propensity for failure so far.
Well that's Queensland, hubs look to be the way forward in NSW and Vic.
Again it’s been widely reported and posted on here many times as well that the new TGA study into Pfizer storage means the ultra low temperature storage is not necessary for an extended period which means GP’s are easily suitable for Pfizer and from all reports this weekend will be administering Pfizer as well which is great
That storage gives a coupe of days doesn't remotely compare to ability to store properly longer term as mass vac centres. NSW Gov made announcement for mass vac centre at Olympic Park because it understands that this is what younger people need and could see too much GP vaccine is sitting dispersed in clinics unused. And it is all over the media this morning how Vic is expanding access its vac centres (previously for front line workers only) to all eligible recipients, again a recognition GPs alone cant get this done at the pace that is needed.
pharmac_ numbers for flu shot were artificially high last year because workplaces were closed, and workplaces gave people pharmac_ vouchers instead of having Bupa etc come onsite to do the vaccinations. If your working age (and don't have a commonwealth health card) getting a flu shot at GP costs you money, in Sydney that usually means an out of pocket of close to $50 (virtually no bulk billing GPs in the CBD areas), whereas getting at work your employer picks up the tab for the nurse and $0 cost to you. I know many people who only get the flu shot because its free and convenient at office.
GP model is not going to work for most of 2A and 2B, we need mass vac centres open on weekends and workplace options. And GPs need to put on more staff to open extended hours (late weeknights and Saturday and Sundays exclusively for vaccinations). The reason many practices arent giving covid vaccine is the costs dont stack up to open at times needed by working age patients.
I'm not saying remove GP option, but we also need much better ones. If you make it too hard, and people dont bother especially given near non-existent covid risk and no incentives such as international travel on offer.
Be careful drawing generalised conclusions from anecdotal media reports is all I can say.
No need to rely on media, easy to verify yourself, just try to make an online appointment to see how much capacity there is. First week of vaccination my Dad rang nearest GP and was offered an appointment within an hour, didn't suit so rescheduled for a few days later, there was a lot of availability (and that was before the advice on AZ changed which freed up even more slots). All my friends have parents aged 70+, not a single one in NSW has had any problem getting a same day or next day appointment (and we are talking those in metro as well as in a country town). Then yesterday was chatting with a lady at café who is a medical receptionist who also said they are struggling to fill timeslots (except on Saturday mornings).
PS. Did you like my last graph that removed your assertion of bias and spin that showed Australia performing well against many countries?
Australia is ranked poorly wrt vaccines given per capita, as a wealthy country with universal health care we should be much higher. The first 2 months of our roll-out should also have been faster than some of the countries you are comparing to because we had the benefit of seeing what worked overseas (of course by going mainly GP route we didn't leverage best practice).
Charting the jab: More than 60 countries are vaccinating their people faster than Australia the above article indicates if we keep going at the pathetically slow pace we currently are it will be 2023 before all adults are fully vaccinated. This is unacceptable.
Short of a mass outbreak locally, there is nothing likely to take the stench of AZ for under 50s (and quite a few over 50s with concerns).
