16 April 2021
Dear Whiddon residents and families,
I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to you as I want to provide an update regarding the Government’s COVID-19 vaccination program.
You may recall that in late February the Commonwealth embarked on the difficult process of essentially vaccinating the nation. The Government identified Aged Care as a priority and reserved the Pfizer vaccine for all aged care residents who fell into the first phase of the plan (1A).
It was during this initial period that Whiddon saw our first residents receive the vaccine at our Glenfield campus. Since the commencement of the program, approximately 700 residents have received both their COVID-19 vaccinations and around 80 employees who received surplus vaccines, which is in line with Government policy.
To date, we have seen an excellent response at Whiddon, with over 90% of our residents agreeing to receive the vaccine, which is so important given the impact COVID-19 has on our older population. Pleasingly, the vaccination does not appear to have resulted in any significant adverse side effects on our residents or employees across our services.
While we are fortunate to live in a country that has the resources to subsidise the nationwide rollout of the vaccine, the Government is experiencing a number of challenges in delivering the vaccines to our home, and generally across the community. These have been well documented in the media, however it’s important that we communicate to you, the impact this is having on our services.
As I write to you, five of our homes are scheduled to receive their vaccines and ten of our homes are yet to be scheduled. This combined represents approximately 1,000 residents. Further, we are still waiting for an official program to be implemented and scheduled in regard to the crucial role of vaccinating our valued employees.
The following is a summary of the status regarding our existing homes:
- Whiddon Easton Park (Glenfield) – completed
- Whiddon Kelso – completed
- Whiddon Hornsby – completed
- Whiddon Redhead – completed
- Whiddon Belmont – first dose completed, scheduled for their second dose on 19 April
- Whiddon Beaudesert Star – first dose completed, scheduled for their second dose on 24 April
- Whiddon Laurieton– scheduled for their first dose on 7 May
- Whiddon Casino – scheduled for their first dose on 12 May
- Whiddon Kyogle – scheduled for their first dose on 13 May
- Whiddon Grafton – scheduled for their first dose on 2 June
- Whiddon Maclean – scheduled for their first dose on 8 June
- Whiddon Bourke – not yet scheduled
- Whiddon Largs – not yet scheduled
- Whiddon Moree – not yet scheduled
- Whiddon Mudgee Pioneer – not yet scheduled
- Whiddon Narrabri Jessie Hunt – not yet scheduled
- Whiddon Narrabri Robert Young – not yet scheduled
- Whiddon Temora – not yet scheduled
- Whiddon Walgett – not yet scheduled
- Whiddon Wee Waa – not yet scheduled
- Whiddon Wingham – not yet scheduled
While we are currently experiencing very low, if any, levels of community transmission in regard to COVID-19, I can’t stress enough how important it is to have our residents and employees vaccinated as soon as possible. Through the second phase of the Commonwealth’s vaccination program (1B), it is also crucial that our home care clients and retirement living residents receive access to the vaccination.
This is the optimum time to protect our residents, clients, employees, and in fact the community, from the virus. As always, we must be guided by advice from health authorities and our own GP’s who understand our individual circumstances. However, protecting the most vulnerable in our community must surely remain our priority.
Further to this, and so you are aware, Whiddon has been actively advocating, through the peak industry body Leading Aged Services Australia (LASA), to expedite and ensure the Government’s commitment to rapidly deploy the vaccine to our residents and employees is realised. I have personally appealed for this publicly on ABC National Radio and on the ABC 7.30 Report on TV, reinforcing how important it is for our residents, clients and employees to access the vaccine now.
It is our understanding that the latest developments, resulting in the Government pausing the deployment of the AstraZeneca vaccine, will not impact the aged care vaccination program for residents, however it may delay the employee vaccination program. We will continue to monitor, advocate and report back to you in regard to these ongoing developments and also ask that you monitor our website (www.whiddon.com.au – COVID-19 page) and social media for additional information. Please note the attached Government fact sheet below with the latest updated information for aged care residents and families.
I hope this communication provides some clarity in regard to this evolving situation and as always, I thank you for trusting in Whiddon.
Chris Mamarelis
Whiddon CEO
Government Factsheet
Australian Government Fact Sheet for aged care residents and families