In this video Professor Alison McMillan, Australia’s Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, answers the top 3 questions you’ve been asking on our social accounts.
Top 3 questions
- What is the process of administering the COVID-19 vaccines?
- Will I still need to wear a face mask once I have received the vaccines?
- Is it safe to breastfeed once I have received the COVID-19 vaccines?
Transcript below:
Hi, and welcome to Top 3 and thank you for James being with me this morning.
A quick shout out to all of those health professionals across the country who are either
administering the vaccine right now to our most venerable, or receiving the vaccine,
people who work on the frontline in healthcare, or working in that really important job
of quarantine, protecting all Australians from COVID.
First question.
What is the process of administering the COVID-19 vaccines?
So, the vaccine obviously is an injection and it’s done in your arm. But there are some
things that you can do to prepare for your vaccine. When your appointment time comes,
make sure you take photo ID with you if you have it, Medicare card, information about the
medications you take, anything about your particular health issues, whether you’ve got a
bleeding disorder, or areas such as that. Any other information that you might feel is
important.
The health professional who does your vaccine will do a consent form, they will check through these things.
Really importantly, if you’ve got any history of anaphylaxis, or an allergic reaction to a
vaccine, you must tell that health professional, it won’t stop you from getting the vaccine,
but they can take some additional measures to protect you. Also, if you have had any other vaccines in recent weeks, you must tell them what it is you’ve had, again so they can prepare you appropriately for your vaccine.
Second question.
Will I still need to wear a face mask once I’ve received the vaccines?
What we do know about the vaccine is that it does prevent severe disease and death.
As yet we are still learning how it affects the transmission of COVID between people.
As we have always said for long time, if for whatever reason, you can’t socially
distance, or particularly when travelling on public transport, even perhaps where in the
place you live you are required to wear a mask, we really do encourage you to do so. It will help protect you and others from COVID, and it really is those places where you cannot properly social distance.
And finally, is it safe to breastfeed once I’ve received the COVID-19 vaccines?
It is. It is important as you get your vaccine to tell the health professional doing it that you are breastfeeding, bit it is safe to you and your baby to have the vaccine and continue to breastfeed.
We are encouraging as many women to breastfeed their babies as long as they can, due to the extra protection it provides for a range of conditions and diseases.
So, a quick shout out, thank you everyone again for listening to the Top 3, thanks again to James for his work.
I hope you have a great week.
