1200 vaccines given in Harvey and Waroona

A doctor’s surgery in Harvey has made radical changes to the way it is operating this flu season due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Harvey Medical Group has a giant marquee at the rear of the property to help with waiting room queues and administer flu shot vaccinations. Practice manager Kylie Wilson said the surgery hired the tent for two months and had made a number of changes to keep patients and doctors safe during the pandemic. Mrs Wilson said the surgeries in Harvey and Waroona had already done more than 1200 flu shot vaccines since the end of March. There was initially a shortage of flu vaccines, however, she said the surgeries now had “plenty more in stock”. The flu shots are free for all primary school aged children, people over 65, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, pregnant women and anyone with a chronic illness. The remainder of the public can receive the flu shot for $20. Mrs Wilson said the practice had also started doing phone consultations for vulnerable people. “We are able to bulk bill and patients without Medicare are able to do contactless payments,” she said. “Face-to-face consultations are available if a doctors requires to see the patient but we ask that people call ahead.” She said extra precautions were being taken like sanitising frequently and making sure social distancing was being followed. Harvey Medical Group is also working closely with pharmacists to arrange scripts for patients.