Source: NSW Health

COVID-19 Helpline 1800 020 080

COVID-19 Information from the WA Department of Health

• WA Department of Health COVID-19 information

ATAGI Vaccine Advice

• ATAGI 2024 Vaccine/Booster advice

COVID-19 Vaccination FAQs

• National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance FAQs

Four out of five people will have mild symptoms throughout their illness that can be be managed from home. If you have COVID-19 and would like to consult with a GP, you should contact your regular GP. If you don't have a regular GP, you can make a phone consult appointment at Pioneer Health or by calling 9842 2822. Alternatively, if you feel you need to be seen by a GP in person, you can make an appointment at our Drive Through Respiratory Clinic. Standard consultation fees may apply for phone consults and Respiratory Clinic consultations.

Testing and Isolation Guidelines
Testing and home isolation guidelines

Antiviral Treatment Eligibility
You may be eligible for antiviral treatment. Please check the criteria listed here.

Information for vulnerable patients
Advice for older people
Advice for immunocompromised people

Where to get help in Albany and the Great Southern
Great Southern Resources
Where to get help in Albany

Anyone aged 5 and over is now eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine. Patients naturally may have questions regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. The information below may provide some answers, or alternatively the links in the side panel may be helpful.

Who will receive a vaccine?
Everyone from 5 years of age in Australia will be offered a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine. There is no cost to the patient for a COVID-19 vaccine.

Why should I get vaccinated for COVID-19?

• Vaccination is the most effective way to protect against infectious diseases. 
• Vaccines strengthen your immune system by training it to recognise and fight against specific viruses. 
• When you get vaccinated, you are protecting yourself and helping to protect the whole community.
• Help reduce COVID-19 in the community

Achieving herd immunity is a long-term Department of Health goal. It usually requires a large amount of the population to be vaccinated. Studies will monitor the impact of COVID-19 vaccines in Australia and whether herd immunity is developing over time.

High immunisation rates protect vulnerable people in our community who cannot be vaccinated, such as very young children or people who are too sick.

Reactions to vaccines
For the most recent information from the Department of Health, including information on thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), please see the links on this page.

Because COVID-19 vaccines do not introduce fully functional viruses, reactions to the vaccine are not a “mild form” of COVID-19. Reactions are the immune system’s response to the introduction of a foreign body.

It is not possible for the vaccine to infect a person with COVID-19 or cause changes to human DNA. Severe anaphylactic reactions to the vaccines appear to be uncommon.

Reactions can include local injection site pain, redness, swelling, and other more systemic symptoms such as fever, muscle soreness, fatigue, or headache. 

For the vaccines approved in Australia, most reactions are mild (i.e. do not interfere with daily activities) and only last a day or two.

Moderate to severe reactions (i.e. headache, fever/chills, fatigue) are very uncommon and usually also resolve in two to three days.

The above information has been sourced from the Department of Health website and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation.