House debates

Wednesday, 2 June 2021

Questions without Notice

COVID19: Vaccination

2:08 pm

Photo of Ms Catherine KingMs Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. At an aged-care home in my electorate, five residents missed out on their first dose of COVID vaccine because federal government contractors arrived without enough doses. The residents were told to go to a GP clinic to get them, but the residents are frail and immobile. Why on earth is the government telling people who are frail and immobile to find their way to a local GP clinic for their vaccine?

2:09 pm

Photo of Greg HuntGreg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | | Hansard source

I'm very pleased to respond to the member for Ballarat. I'd be pleased and grateful to receive the details of the facility. We know that across Victoria all Commonwealth aged-care facilities have received a first dose. We currently have 50 in-reach clinics being conducted this week for any facilities where there are residents within that facility who have not received a first dose. We would be very happy—as we are right through all of these—to ensure that those residents are scheduled. I can't speak for what was said to them on the time, but I can say that our program is to ensure that there is in-reach over and above that which has already occurred. One hundred per cent of Commonwealth residential aged-care facilities within Victoria have received a first dose.

We currently have the next phase of delivering the second doses to all facilities and, if they did not receive a dose in the first round, they would be entitled to receive it in the second. If that is not the case, there is also the additional program, which is in relation to that, of the roving clinics which are being provided. There are 50 such mobile clinics that are occurring inside facilities, on my advice, this week.