Published 11th February 2021
The Australian Government aims to have as many people as possible vaccinated against COVID-19 in 2021.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration’s (TGA) rigorous assessment process will ensure all approved COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. All vaccines are thoroughly tested for safety before they are approved for use in Australia. This includes careful analysis of clinical trial data, ingredients, chemistry, manufacturing and other factors. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has been provisionally approved by the TGA for people 16 years and older. Pfizer will be required to continue providing information to the TGA on the safety, efficacy and quality of the vaccine.
Provisional approval of the University of Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is currently anticipated in February.
Want to know more about how COVID-19 vaccines are tested and approved? Check out the video on our website.
You can also talk to your GP or a health professional about the COVID-19 vaccines and why vaccination is an important part of keeping the community safe and healthy.
After a recent assessment by the European Medicines Agency Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, the TGA has concluded that there is no specific risk of vaccination with the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in elderly people. Elderly people can receive this vaccine and there is no cap on the upper age limit.
You can read more about this on the TGA’s website.
The Department of Health understands that potentially incorrect and harmful information about the COVID-19 vaccination program is being distributed to residential aged care facilities by people not connected to those facilities.
The Australian Government urges aged care providers and staff to obtain trusted and reliable information. You can find this information and resources, including translated materials, on our COVID-19 vaccines website, and subscribe to receive the COVID-19 Vaccines Updates.
The department has published new information for residential aged care facilities and workers about the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines.
On our website you can download:
We will update our website regularly as new information becomes available. In particular, further detail and operational information will be provided soon on:
The Victorian Government has confirmed that masks are mandatory for all residential aged care facility staff, effective immediately.
All clinical and non-clinical staff and workers must wear a surgical mask at all times, no matter where they work in the facility.
A direction fact sheet has been provided by the Victorian Government Department of Health and Human Services.
Workers delivering services for Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) and Home Care Package (HCP) providers must also wear a mask when providing care in an indoor space.
The above advice is also applicable for the provision of both Residential and Home Based Services delivered by providers of the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program.
Further information regarding is available at on the Victorian Government website or please contact the Victorian Aged Care Response Centre (VACRC) 1800 413 957.
Residential aged care facilities who have had 2 or more cases of COVID-19 (as of 23 October 2020) are eligible for an allied health group therapy program. The program aims to improve physical functioning of residents who are at risk of deconditioning due to COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. Funding is available for twice weekly therapy for up to 26 weeks.
Group therapy sessions will be led by a physiotherapist, occupational therapist or exercise physiologist. Primary Health Networks(PHNs) will be commissioning allied health providers to do this work in late February or early March 2021. The states with eligible facilities include Victoria, NSW and Tasmania.
Please see factsheet for further information.
Following announcement of the National Review of COVID-19 Outbreaks in Australian Residential Aged Care Facilities in late December 2020, the review is underway and is being undertaken by Professor Lyn Gilbert AO and Adjunct Professor Alan Lilly.
The reviewers are planning to conduct an online survey and a series of online workshops beginning later this month and want to hear a range of views and perspectives about experiences related to the pandemic. Please stay tuned for more information coming soon about how you can be involved. In the meantime, please see the terms of reference (please use Google Chrome) for the review.
The Western Australian Government has introduced a five day lockdown in ‘affected areas’ including; Metropolitan Perth, Peel and South West regions following a hotel quarantine worker testing positive to COVID-19. This lockdown includes updated advice to aged care providers in Western Australia (Visitors to Residential Aged Care Facilities Directions No.5). It is critical that aged care providers and their staff familiarise themselves with these directions.
Effective immediately, a person must not enter, or remain at a residential aged care facility in the affected areas unless:
However, if you have returned from overseas or been informed you are a close contact in the last 14 days or you have any symptoms you may not enter a residential aged care facility.
In addition to the Residential Aged Care directions aged care providers in the affected areas must also follow general public restrictions including the mandatory wearing of masks.
Aged care facilities outside of the affected areas are required to continue following the Visitors to Residential Aged Care Facilities Directions No. 4.
It is critical to stay up to date with advice and Directions on the WA Government website and to check for these updates regularly.
Aged care providers are reminded they need to urgently contact both their local PHU and the Commonwealth Department of Health at in response to a confirmed case of COVID-19 in a resident or staff member. A Commonwealth case manager will be assigned to you and a range of supports will be made available to help you manage the outbreak. The PHU will also advise and assist you with testing arrangements.
Providers are also to ensure they have a sufficient supply of PPE, to use their own supply of PPE first and to request extra supply as and when needed. If you urgently need PPE and cannot source it, please submit an online application for access to PPE from the National Medical Stockpile. The application will need to be completed for your request to be considered. The Commonwealth is prioritising requests for PPE from the National Medical Stockpile to aged care services that are most in need.
Further information and advice:The Western Australia PHU contact number is 13 268 43 (13 COVID).
Please visit the Australian Government Department of Health website for information and resources to assist in preparing and managing a COVID-19 outbreak.
NSW Health advice for both Residential Aged Care Facilities and Home Care Service Providers has been updated as of 4 February 2021. Aged care providers are encouraged to ensure they read the full advice.
Key updates include:
South Australia Health’s Emergency Management (Residential Aged Care Facilities No 26) (COVID-19) Direction 2020 came into effect on 2 February.
No person who has who travelled from any place other than a low community transmission zone in the last 14 days is permitted to enter or remain on the premises of a residential aged care facility in South Australia. This includes:
A reminder that the Support for Aged Care Workers in COVID-19 (SACWIC) Grant Opportunity remains open until 30 June 2021 for applications from Providers located in hotspots or high risk locations. Funding is available for those providers who experienced out of pocket costs associated with supplementing staff pay or offering additional training during the implementation of single site workforce arrangements or costs associated with sick leave for their workers.
The SACWIC Grant has been made available in the following locations for the relevant activity period. Funding can only be reimbursed for costs incurred during the period identified below:
State
Local Government Area/Suburb
SACWIC Grant Activity Period
New South Wales
Northern Beaches LGA
18 December 2020 – 29 January 2021
Victoria
Greater Melbourne LGA
15 July 2020 – 30 November 2020
Mitchell Shire LGA
Brighton
31 December 2020 – 29 January 2021
Doveton
Glen Waverley
McKinnon
Mordialloc
Moorabbin
Queensland
Brisbane LGA
8 January 2021 – 22 January 2021
Ipswich LGA
Logan LGA
Moreton Bay LGA
Redland LGA
When applying for SACWIC grant funding, eligible providers must provide the following documentation:
For more support in applying for SACWIC grant funding, you can review the Single Site Grant Funds Webinar Presentation delivered by the Department of Health in conjunction with ACSA and LASA, contact the Grants Hub at Grant Connect, or phone 1300 484 145 for urgent enquiries.
The Australian Government is encouraging providers and workers to continue limiting mobility where possible. For guidance on practical implementation of single site arrangements, providers can visit the Guiding Principles Support Hub website or phone the hotline on 1800 491 793 (free call). Providers are also encouraged to take steps to understand your workforce by developing a register for recording each workers mobility and their skills and training.
Further advice on how to prepare for and implement a single site workforce arrangement can be found in the National COVID-19 Aged Care Plan. This guidance will support providers to prepare in the event single site arrangements are required again in the future.
Invitation: Online launch of the Older Persons Multilingual COVID-19 support line.
The Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing is pleased to invite you to the launch of the Multilingual Older Persons COVID-19 Support Line. The support line is funded by the Australian Department of Health, and is an Australia-wide initiative that provides in-language information and support associated with COVID-19, and referrals to appropriate services and programs for older Australians from culturally diverse backgrounds.
The support line will be available in Arabic, Cantonese, Greek, Italian, Mandarin and Vietnamese. All calls are free, 2:00pm - 5:00pm (Melbourne time) Monday to Fridays (except public holidays).
The launch will give you an overview of the Multilingual Older Persons COVID-19 Support Line, how it can benefit your clients and their families, and ways you can promote it to your networks.
Wednesday 10 February 202112:30 - 1:00pm (Melbourne time)This is an online eventRegister to attend
The Multilingual Older Persons COVID-19 Support Line is funded by the Australian Department Of Health and is a joint initiative of the Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing (supported by Benetas), Spectrum, All Graduates and the PICAC Alliance.
The initiative complements the Older Persons COVID-19 Support line which is supported by: COTA, Dementia Australia, OPAN, National Seniors, and the National Ethnic and Multicultural Broadcasters Council.
Whether it is in their home or a residential aged care facility, every older person receiving aged care is entitled to a unique set of rights called the Charter of Aged Care Rights. What are those rights, why do they matter, and what can each of us to do ensure older people’s rights are respected?
The Older Persons Advocacy Network is bringing together a panel of experts for a live webinar and Q&A on February 11 to discuss how older people can exercise their rights under the Charter of Aged Care Rights, and how we can support them.
Details:Thursday 11 February 202112:00 PM – 1:00 PM AESTThis event is free please register to attend.
Source:Unknown Author, 2021, Department of Health (https://www.health.gov.au/)
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