Brisbane COVID-19 Vaccination Winter 2021

Brisbane COVID-19 Vaccination Winter 2021

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Posted 2021-06-25 by T. A. Rosefollow


Vaccinations are a very important part of such a new norm of COVID. After getting my first dose couldn't be more enthused to help find out a little bit more about the process relevant to within the Inner Brisbane Area of where I got my vaccine dose and sticker to say I had been vaccinated. Call 13 42 68 for further Queensland State information - an ideal starting point for vaccination enquiries - especially this winter.

I got my vaccine at Surgical Treatment and Rehabilitation Service (STARS) which is one of several vaccination centres in the Brisbane Central area. It was a walk in appointment. The first thing that happens is you get a number which only the staff understand and you stick it to your shirt. Now, while short sleeves are recommended, I had a zip jacket so baggy I could expose my upper arm without need to remove the jacket. Yes, the vaccination is done in the upper arm. I actually don't want to say which dose I got, but I have outlined some ideas about the two types of doses available, namely, Pfizer and AstraZeneca while the currently unavailable Novavax gets a mention for at least appearing on my card (see photos) and a slight mention to Moderna.

It is better to register, so later on I did the right thing, cancelled my appointment, and advised I'd got my first dose in a walk-in. Despite long waits on the phone, the customer service assistants are pleasant enough and helpful, and I had my record of my walk in dose discovered, and linked to my registered appointment and all neatly integrated in, then, under the same name, got my next dose appointment ready for a few weeks time. You need your Medicare card for the appointment and a form of government-issued ID such as a driver's licence.



My impression actually was one of surprise, it was done quite professionally and very smoothly considering how temporary it seemed. It was quite funny waiting in the corridors of STARS, it's simply wait, and when the queue progresses move to the next chair. There is also a wait room for Pfizer patients and the wait doesn't sound all that long, around fifteen to twenty minutes just so they can check one hasn't had any adverse reaction. You need two injections done at least 21 days apart (for Pfizer, minimum for AstraZeneca is 28 days) but no longer than 42 days apart for Pfizer and up to 90 for AstraZeneca. You'll find once the first dose goes well you'll be keen to get the second, as it raises one's confidence in such a process. Keep in mind the different vaccines have different ingredients but are designed to achieve the same goal - a quite remarkable aspect of the entire situation.

The remainder of this article is less experiential and sourced from different government advisory websites, used to add some related facts about vaccination:

The Vaccines

From the official Queensland Covid 19 pages is information about each vaccine:

%%"Queensland has two COVID-19 vaccines available:
the Pfizer vaccine (also known as Comirnaty)
the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Both vaccines have been provisionally approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)."%%

Pfizer and AstraZeneca have been approved in adults 16 years and over. It is still a good idea for anyone from 16 years and older to enquire about eligibility as even sixteen year olds may be eligible depending on individual circumstances. There is a plethora of suitable information on the following pages (especially after my experience today):

https://www.qld.gov.au/health/conditions/health-alerts/coronavirus-covid-19/protect-yourself-others/covid-19-vaccine/about/about-the-covid-19-vaccine

Particular to Each Vaccine:

Pfizer

This link was from official channels, linked from Queensland Government pages:

https://www.tga.gov.au/covid-19-vaccine-pfizer-australia-comirnaty-bnt162b2-mrna .

It's better to seek these pages for advice as they are official channels, I found them consistent with my experience of the first dose.
AstraZeneca

This link was from official channels, linked from Queensland Government pages:
https://www.tga.gov.au/media-release/tga-provisionally-approves-astrazenecas-covid-19-vaccine .

It's better to seek these pages for advice as they are official channels. I found them consistent with my experience of the first dose.

Novavax (not offered at this stage)

According to Queensland Government webpages , Novavax is not available but does appear on some cards and documents more linked to the national rollout, it was not formally offered to me on my walk in appointment, and based on official channels, is not offered in Queensland at this stage. I mainly at least mention Novavax as it appeared on my card (see photo), but on the actual documentation at check-in to the vaccination, center was not mentioned, hence consistent with Queensland Government's statements, i.e. only AstraZeneca and Pfizer are offered in Queensland vaccination centres at the time of writing/publication.

According to official Queensland Health pages:"The Australian Government also has vaccine agreements with Moderna and Novavax, however, these vaccines are not yet approved for use in Australia by the TGA. More information about these vaccines will be provided if approval is given."

Inner Brisbane Vaccination Centres

There are several centres in the Inner Brisbane Area but they only get disclosed once you register interest. What I can say is major hospitals have vaccination centres and you'll get an appointment type, such as over 60, under 60 or first or second dose. I found I could access STARS and they do walk in appointments, but it does get busy later in the day, so best to register and if not then get there early. Princess Alexandra and Mater are other major hospitals in the Inner Brisbane Area that I got offered appointments with.

Conclusion

They say vaccinating works like a bridge in that it achieves the (metaphorically speaking) effect of crossing, so to cross in this metaphor is to build immunity to COVID-19, but the point being is that the bridge can be made of different things but still achieve the same thing. Experientially, I found it exceeded expectations and I felt better after and satisfied, because I knew I had to get around to it sooner or later, so to get it done was a great thing. Hence my enthusiasm with explaining this from the experiential connected to the factual.

#brisbane_city
#health_fitness
#queensland
#seniors
#unusual_events
%wnbrisbane
164301 - 2023-06-14 23:32:37

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