MEDIA Release – Department of Health
Residential aged care residents and workers are among the first people in Australia to be offered a COVID-19 vaccine.
As a residential aged care service provider, you have an important role in ensuring a safe rollout of COVID-19 vaccines to the community.
You are required to:
A suite of resources and information is available to help you communicate with your workers and residents about the COVID-19 vaccine program. More resources will be available as the program progresses.
You should ensure your workers and residents can access this information in a way that is easy for them. You could:
You will need to ensure your facility has an adequate clinical space for vaccination. The site readiness checklist guides you through the process for preparing your facility for vaccination day.
You are responsible for coordinating processes for resident consent. This process needs to be completed ahead of the vaccination day.
As with all other vaccines, informed consent is required before administering each COVID-19 vaccine dose. Written consent is not mandatory, but it is preferred for residential aged care.
The Australian Government has prepared a written consent form.
You should ensure you provide residents and/or their representatives with detailed and accurate information on COVID-19 vaccination. Provide the following patient information sheets to potential recipients:
They should receive these written resources prior to vaccination.
For more information about valid consent, refer to the Australian Immunisation Handbook – Preparing for vaccination – Valid consent.
