Public confidence in the coronavirus vaccine rollout has been rocked by revelations a doctor, who had not undergone the proper training, gave an incorrect dose to two aged care residents in Queensland. The doctor was employed by contractor Healthcare Australia to deliver the jabs at the Holy Spirit aged care facility in the Brisbane suburb of Carseldine. He has now been reported to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and stood aside from the vaccine program. One of the vaccine recipients, an 88-year-old man, was admitted to hospital for observation and on Wednesday was showing no signs of adverse reaction. A 94-year-old woman is being monitored in the aged care home. Health Minister Greg Hunt initially told reporters and parliament on Wednesday the doctor had successfully completed the vaccination training course. But he subsequently reported back to parliament that the training had not been completed. Healthcare Australia had initially advised the minister it had copies of the certificates of completion "for each health professional involved in the vaccine rollout", but this turned out to be inaccurate. The minister has asked his department for action against the company and the doctor. Labor frontbencher Katy Gallagher told parliament the government should have done more checks before outsourcing the program to private providers with "fat contracts". "This is the Commonwealth taking responsibility for an area they don't usually operate in - running immunisation programs that the states and territories are well across," she said. "We need confidence in this vaccination rollout. We need people to believe that it is done safely by trained professionals who have had all the ticks in their boxes and the government has checked all this." Healthcare Australia has the federal contract for the vaccination workforce in NSW and Queensland, and Aspen Medical is responsible for the other states and territories. Queensland has asked that a national cabinet due to be held in March be brought forward to discuss issues with the vaccination program. Australian Associated Press
Two residents of Brisbane's Holy Spirit Nursing Home were given wrong coronavirus vaccine doses.
Public confidence in the coronavirus vaccine rollout has been rocked by revelations a doctor, who had not undergone the proper training, gave an incorrect dose to two aged care residents in Queensland.
The doctor was employed by contractor Healthcare Australia to deliver the jabs at the Holy Spirit aged care facility in the Brisbane suburb of Carseldine.
He has now been reported to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and stood aside from the vaccine program.
One of the vaccine recipients, an 88-year-old man, was admitted to hospital for observation and on Wednesday was showing no signs of adverse reaction.
A 94-year-old woman is being monitored in the aged care home.
Health Minister Greg Hunt initially told reporters and parliament on Wednesday the doctor had successfully completed the vaccination training course.
But he subsequently reported back to parliament that the training had not been completed.
Healthcare Australia had initially advised the minister it had copies of the certificates of completion "for each health professional involved in the vaccine rollout", but this turned out to be inaccurate.
The minister has asked his department for action against the company and the doctor.
Labor frontbencher Katy Gallagher told parliament the government should have done more checks before outsourcing the program to private providers with "fat contracts".
"This is the Commonwealth taking responsibility for an area they don't usually operate in - running immunisation programs that the states and territories are well across," she said.
"We need confidence in this vaccination rollout. We need people to believe that it is done safely by trained professionals who have had all the ticks in their boxes and the government has checked all this."
Healthcare Australia has the federal contract for the vaccination workforce in NSW and Queensland, and Aspen Medical is responsible for the other states and territories.
Queensland has asked that a national cabinet due to be held in March be brought forward to discuss issues with the vaccination program.
Australian Associated Press
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