Meat workers already vaccinated in rollout’s second stage

Abattoir workers have been among the first people to receive the coronavirus vaccine under an early start to the phase 1b rollout in Victoria as the federal government remains adamant that the number of shots being delivered was ramping up.

The Australian Lamb Company in Colac confirmed that 56 meat workers had been among the first group of employees to receive their vaccinations. However, the vaccine is only trickling through to GP clinics who will begin offering the AstraZeneca doses from Monday to people eligible for the jab in the 1b phase.

Vaccinations have already begun for workers at the Australian Lamb Company in Colac. Credit:Jason South

One meatworks paused the program because a “fair percentage” of its workers had experienced side-effects from the jab.

The 1b phase of the national program includes healthcare workers who did not receive their vaccines in phase 1a, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders aged 55 and over, other Australians aged 70 and over, younger adults with a qualifying underlying medical condition or disability and disability carers, and critical and high-risk workers, including those in defence, police, fire, emergency services and meat processing.

In a slight variation to the original rollout plan, families of border and quarantine workers and aircrew will also be eligible to receive their vaccines.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said states would receive “significant amounts of vaccine”, and it was up to the states to distribute those as they saw fit.

“Over the course of the next week, the states and territories will be receiving over 150,000 vaccines, the general practices 200,000 vaccines, the Commonwealth clinics will have over 50,000 vaccines, and then there’s 100,000 that are reserved for frontline workers and for aged care,” Mr Hunt said.

Among the sites chosen for mass vaccinations in Victoria are the former Ford factory in Geelong and a large disused store in Warrnambool, but they are not expected to begin operating until Easter at the earliest. Geelong-based Barwon Health, which covers Victoria’s south-west, confirmed that emergency services workers and some 1b healthcare workers were among those who had already been vaccinated.

“While our priority remains phase 1a priority groups, we have also started vaccinating Victorians in phase 1b, making the most of resources available on a case-by-case and common sense basis,” a spokesman said.

Australian Lamb Company director Dale Smith said the workers were vaccinated over a two-hour period.

Head of Barwon Health’s public health unit, Eugene Athan, in the hall in Geelong where vaccines are being administered.Credit:Jason South

“We are feeling confident moving into some larger clinics next week,” he said.

Abattoirs posed a major challenge for health authorities during the pandemic with more than 80 COVID-19 cases linked with the Colac abattoir. The Midfield Group abattoir in Warrnambool confirmed about 250 workers had been vaccinated earlier this week.

However, the company’s general manager, Dean McKenna, said the program was now on hold. “We pulled up a bit because a fair percentage of our workforce was getting side effects,” he said.

But Mr McKenna said those workers had now recovered and the company planned to resume once more information was available. Some healthcare workers have also needed a day off to recover after receiving their shot.



It is normal for vaccines to produce some side-effects and both the federal government and health authorities insist the vaccines approved in Australia are safe.

Barwon Health’s public health unit director Eugene Athan said people would be getting their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine from next week, starting with aged care residents and staff followed by healthcare and frontline workers.

Almost 5000 people have been vaccinated in the Barwon south west region and the health service expects to vaccinate a further 4000 people this week. Bendigo Health reported it has vaccinated 1000 people in the 1a phase across the Loddon Mallee region.

GPs were deluged with calls after the federal government released a list of clinics on Tuesday that will deliver the AstraZeneca vaccine to 6 million people deemed a priority. The names of the clinics were released before the first doses arrived at many of them, and some GPs refused to take bookings until they knew how many vaccines they had.

Central Gippsland Family Practice co-owner Kingsley Rajasingham said the clinic was among three in Moe that planned to provide vaccinations.

“It would be nicer if they brought in a hub and said ‘whoever wants to have it come to the town hall’ – that would be ideal for us,” Dr Rajasingham said.

“If we are given the supply, eventually we will be able to cover it, most patients are attached to one of the clinics.”

Dr Rajasingham’s main concern was the small number of doses the clinics received this week. But he said even if supply increased, medical labour shortages that had existed for decades would force staff to work overtime. The clinic plans to open for an extra 13 hours a week to cover demand if supply of the vaccine increases.

Federal opposition health spokesman Mark Butler said the vaccine rollout was already “far behind schedule” and had been plagued by “chaos [and] confusion, and that really is not contributing to a smooth rollout of this critically important vaccine”.

Victorian Minister for Transport Infrastructure Jacinta Allan reiterated it was the federal government’s responsibility to iron out issues in the vaccine rollout through GPs.

“We’re all really eager to see that rollout succeed, but it’s obviously had an impact in the last couple of days on local GP clinics and I think we can hope the federal government will have a look at what additional supports can be given to GPs,” she said.

“Because it’s very clear that the community are keen to get their vaccine when their part of the program comes up and the Commonwealth government, I’m sure, will be responding accordingly.

The federal government has provided a long list of underlying medical conditions which allow a person to receive their vaccine in phase 1b. Common ones include cancer, diabetes, heart or lung disease, severe obesity (BMI of greater than 40) and neurological conditions including stroke, MS, cerebral palsy and Parkinson’s.

With Rachel Clun

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