Safer COVID vaccinations thanks to the Queensland Adult Specialist Immunisation Service

A new service at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital is supporting at-risk members of the community to safely receive the COVID-19 vaccination.

The Queensland Adult Specialist Immunisation Service (QASIS) works with individuals to deliver supervised immunisations, allergy testing and reporting.

Since the service opened in July, more than 230 patients have safely received their COVID-19 vaccination in the specialist outpatient service. The team are receiving a significant number of referrals each week, to which they either provide clinical reviews of these patients or individualised feedback to the referrer to assist with their care.

The service aims to provide vaccine education to the general community, clinicians and specialist immunisation clinicians, with a focus on quality and leading research allergy and anaphylaxis testing, public health, economic and social research.

Nine RBWH staff members are currently involved in the clinic, including Medical Officers, Nurses, Pharmacists and Administration Professionals.

RBWH Infectious Disease Staff Specialist and QASIS Clinic Lead Andrew Redmond said he is thrilled with the success of the clinic since it opened.

“I have been interested in immunisation for a long time and firmly believe that prevention is better than cure,” he said.

“It is great to be able to offer immunisation to those with complex health needs, as well as to the wider population.

“It has also been thoroughly rewarding to consult with patients from around the state via telehealth and telephone, so we can support patients and their health-care team in regional locations.”

RBWH QASIS Pharmacist Renee Palise said the service has been positively received by patients with complex health concerns.

“As part of a multidisciplinary team, I work closely with patients to assess their medication history and allergies and work with the team to provide recommendations for the most appropriate vaccine or course of action prior to vaccination” she said.

“It’s been wonderful to help alleviate these patient’s fears and to see many of them go on to safely receive the COVID-19 vaccination.

We look forward to seeing the success of QASIS grow.