Family doctors are expecting to join Malta’s COVID-19 vaccination drive this week, although some say it may be too late for them to have much of an impact.

General practitioners have also voiced concern about lack of information ahead of their involvement in the programme.

About 90 GPs had signed up for the initiative by last month and followed an online refresher course on the inoculation procedure.

From this week, GPs will be required to sign patients up for their vaccines in batches of 11 people. These would be patients who have not yet been vaccinated or have not yet registered for their doses, and who would like their own doctor to administer the jabs.

The GPs must apply for and pick up the doses from Mater Dei Hospital in person. They would then have six hours to administer the jabs, with the vaccines being held in cold storage in their clinic or pharmacy in between.

One GP who spoke to Times of Malta, and who wished to stay anonymous, said the initiative “may not be worth the hassle”. Since it is now restricted to age cohorts, “it may be too late” for the idea to work as well as it could have, he said.

“Also, many of those in the age categories that would have preferred going to their GPs have already been given both doses. So why now?” the doctor asked.

According to the limited information at the doctors’ disposal, people who have already registered for an appointment or have been assigned a date are not allowed to switch to their GP.

“Why did they call us up now, at a relatively late stage of the pandemic and the vaccination drive? If they really wanted our help, they should have recruited us from the beginning. It does not make any sense,” another doctor argued, also asking not to be named.

Why did they call us up now, at a relatively late stage of the pandemic?

“The process would make sense if it were immediately open and available to everyone above the age of 16, as otherwise it might not be worth the trouble.”

They also argued that having to pick up batches of 11 at a time in person will make the whole process much slower. Sending an authorised representative of the clinic on their behalf would be much simpler.

“We want to help primarily out of a sense of duty, but we also want to be involved in a process that’s efficient, not something that’s missing basic details that we have a right to know about,” one of the GPs argued.

“This whole process could have been much more viable and protective of the patient’s right to their preferred treatment.

“If we are to work together, we need to know what’s going on so we can plan appointments ahead with people who want to get vaccinated by their GP.”

A significant number of patients say they would feel much more comfortable knowing exactly when and how they will be able to get vaccinated by their family doctors, one GP said.

“I’ve sent in applications for a few 11-person batches but I have no information about when we will be able to pick them up and dispense them to our clients.”

The doctors also lack information on whether they are expected to be paid for the service or provide it on a voluntary basis.

They acknowledge that other frontliners have had a much tougher time facing COVID but they point to their own indirect service to the community, “spending hours with clients on the phone” throughout the pandemic and offering help whenever possible.

Questions sent to the Health Ministry were unanswered by the time this went to print.

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