Federal government to letterbox over 60s urging them to get the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine

The letters will be sent out next week.(ABC News: Jacqui Street)

Scott Morrison is ramping up his plea for over 60s to get the AstraZeneca vaccine, sending out hundreds of thousands of letters to those who are unvaccinated urging them to book in for a shot.

The letters, co-signed by Health Minister Greg Hunt and Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly, will go out next week to just over 586,000 people aged between 60 and 69 who have not recorded a first vaccine dose, the bulk of which are in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.

The ABC understands more than 82 per cent of people in that age group have had their first dose, with the messages targeting as many people as possible in the remaining 18 per cent.

“The expert health advice is very clear, people over 60 have a greatly increased risk of getting severe disease with COVID-19 and must be vaccinated as soon as possible,” the letter reads.

“The recent outbreaks of the new more infectious strains of the COVID-19 virus, with some tragic deaths in Sydney, make it even more important that Australians over 60 get vaccinated now.”

Federal Labor said the opposition still believed a “strong public health information campaign” was what was needed to improve vaccination rates.

“I’m not sure a letter from Scott Morrison is really what I had in mind or frankly what other experts in this area had in mind,” Shadow Health Minister Mark Butler said.

“Instead I was thinking of something that would have a more powerful effect than that.”

GPs frustrated at AstraZeneca hesitancy

Some GPs have expressed frustration at people over 60 refusing the AstraZeneca vaccine because of the extremely small risk of blood clots, and instead waiting for Pfizer to become available.

Joe Garra, a GP from Werribee in Melbourne’s west, described the “stubborness” of the cohort of people aged over 60 who have not yet been vaccinated.

He said a significant number of his patients in that age group are refusing to get the AstraZeneca vaccine because of blood clot concerns, and are waiting for Pfizer to become available

“Their risk of dying from COVID [if they contract the virus] is at least 10 or 20 per cent because a lot of them have high blood pressure, diabetes, overweight, they’re really high-risk.”

Dr Garra said the messaging around AstraZeneca has been “terrible” and the vaccine had been publicly questioned by health officials and high-profile doctors, despite the extremely low risk of an adverse reaction.

“The evidence that came out of the UK over the weekend was that [its efficacy] might even last longer than Pfizer, so it looks like it might even be a better vaccine than Pfizer.”

Dr Garra said people were also regularly not turning up for Pfizer vaccination appointments, leaving doctors to scramble to administer doses to avoid them going to waste.

ABC NEWS