Laois GPs have asked people not to contact doctor’s surgeries at the moment to be placed on a list for the Covid-19 vaccine.
In a statement issued today by Dr Michelle Byrne on behalf of the Laois Faculty of the ICGP and Midoc members, they says that “the large volume of vaccine-related queries via phone and email to surgeries is placing additional strain on the administration system of GP practices locally”.
“We ask that you avoid contacting your GP surgery to be put on a list as there are no lists,” adds the statement.
“We are heartened to see the day-on-day reduction in case numbers and expect hospital admission to reduce shortly.
“We would like to thank everyone in our community for their efforts which has most certainly contributed to this reduction.
“However, it is important that we all continue in our efforts to supress this virus so that we may see a return to normal life in the not-too-distant future. It is vital that we continue to keep our contacts to a minimum & stay at home except for non-essential purposes. The arrival of several vaccines has added to our armoury in the fight against COVID-19.
“Laois GPs are looking forward to assisting in the roll out of the vaccination programme in our community in the coming weeks.”
They also explain how the vaccine can be rolled out to the community in the coming weeks.
“The first roll out of the vaccination programme will involve GPs and their teams vaccinating those patients that are over 70. It is expected that we shall commence with those over 85 in the first instance and then over 80 and so on.
“Each practice will have different arrangements in place to roll this out and will advise their patients accordingly.
“We are receiving a large volume of calls in relation to vaccine queries. Each practice will adhere to the recommended roll out as advised by the HSE & the National Immunisation Committee
“If you have concerns or are seeking advice in relation to the vaccine, please find below a list of recommended sites where you may find the answer to your query.
The HSE site contains information about who should receive the vaccine, its safety, immunity, and side effects. There are also patient information leaflets found on this site.
I am pregnant, should I have the vaccine? The final decision rests with the individual. The following link contains the most up to date information.
The following link has a decision-making aid for pregnant women offered the vaccine.
