The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) is strengthening its calls for the Federal Government to urgently ramp up a campaign to boost vaccine confidence in the community.
This call reportedly comes following a RACGP member survey that was conducted this month, which asked GPs what needs to be improved in the rollout of mRNA vaccines to general practice (e.g., Pfizer vaccine) based on their experiences with the AstraZeneca vaccine rollout.
The survey results reveal that 92% of members say that improvement is needed in relation to “public awareness and education”, including almost 70% of respondents who report that “significant improvement” is necessary.
The survey also reportedly reveals that more than half of respondents consider the overall effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine rollout in Australia “somewhat ineffective” or “very ineffective”.
According to RACGP President Dr Karen Price, these results should serve as a strong wake-up call.
“This country urgently needs a comprehensive, well-targeted, nationwide campaign to boost vaccine confidence in the community,” says Dr Price.
“Unless our campaign is large-scale and effective, negative vaccination commentary and conspiracy theories will have a far greater impact on vaccination rates than should be the case.
“We must reach everyone, so the campaign must be carefully tailored so it speaks to different groups of people based on their circumstances and needs.
“We need to clear up the confusion and build confidence in the vaccine now so we can get jabs in arms quickly as supply increases.
“This job is urgent – we need to get the population vaccinated as fast as we can to protect the community and avoid lockdowns.”
Considering the recent changes related to the AstraZeneca vaccine, which may have created confusion and doubt in the community, Dr Price says that the “Government must try and explain that the rollout will change as new evidence emerges but that, that is no cause for alarm”.
“As our understanding of the science changes, our approach to the rollout changes,” says Dr Price.
“A key priority for the campaign must be addressing perceptions of the AstraZeneca vaccine. It is not an inferior vaccine – it is a safe vaccine and if you are eligible to receive it, you should do so right away.
“As a practicing GP, I am listening to some of my patients well into their 70s or older tell me that they are going to wait.
“We need to explain to them that this is a dangerous approach because this age group has a one in 10 chance of dying if they contract Covid-19.
“In contrast, the chances of contracting the rare clotting syndrome associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine is one in the tens of thousands.
“This is a public health emergency of a lifetime. The pandemic is not over, and we do not know when more outbreaks will occur and how severe they will be and where the next hard lockdown will occur.
“So now is the time for the Government to step up and work harder to communicate to Australians why delaying or avoiding getting the vaccine is so much riskier than getting vaccinated.
“We are now in the winter months and the situation is only going to get riskier. The time to act is now,” says Dr Price.
