The State Government has today announced WA’s updated COVID-19 vaccination rollout program in line with national health advice.
The adjustments come following the Federal Government’s announcement to allow people aged 50 to 59 to receive the Pfizer COVID vaccine following updated health advice.
From tomorrow, (Friday, June 18, 2021) 50 to 59 year olds living in WA will be able to get the Pfizer vaccine, through State-run clinics, in line with the national health advice.
Those aged 50 to 59 who are already booked in and due to receive their first dose of AstraZeneca will be contacted by WA Health to have their booking changed to a Pfizer booking.
People aged 50 to 59 who have already had their first dose of AstraZeneca should keep their booking and continue to get their second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
This is important because the clear national health advice is that different vaccines should not be mixed.
There are no changes to the 40 to 49 year olds under the WA rollout program.
From July 5, people aged 40 to 49, along with those aged 50 to 59, are able to receive their Pfizer vaccination through the Federal Government’s GP and respiratory clinic rollout program.
People aged 30 to 39 who have made bookings at our State-run clinics will have their bookings honoured. Bookings for this cohort have been extremely high and appointments are already booked out until August.
People aged 30 to 39 who have not yet made a booking are encouraged to go to https://rollup.wa.gov.au and register their details, so as soon as more Pfizer supply becomes available from the Commonwealth, they will be able to get a booking quickly.
As stated by Premier Mark McGowan:
“We’ve moved quickly to make adjustments in accordance with the national health advice announced by the Commonwealth today.
“Our priority is to ensure as many people are vaccinated to better protect our community from COVID-19.
“The expanded program means that those 50 to 59 year olds will be able to receive a Pfizer vaccine.
“People like myself, in the 50 to 59 year old cohort, who have already received their first dose of AstraZeneca, should keep their booking and continue to get their second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
“This is crucial because the health advice is clear that different vaccines should not be mixed.
“We’re going to continue to rollout the COVID vaccines as quickly as possible and we’re going to continue to advocate for more Pfizer vaccines from the Commonwealth and ensure it’s made more accessible to WA, through GPs and respiratory clinics.
“The best way out of this pandemic is to get vaccinated.”
As stated by Health Minister Roger Cook:
“Our goal has not changed. It is to get as many Western Australians vaccinated as possible.
“Around 500,000 Western Australians have now had at least one dose to help protect them and the community against the spread of COVID-19.
“What we have seen in recent weeks is that Western Australians want to get vaccinated but what we really need is more supply from the Commonwealth to meet that demand.
“During this long journey in the fight against COVID-19 we have always followed health advice.
“We are doing that again today and will continue to do so in future.”
