COVID-19 Tasmania: What you need to know as the vaccine rollout ramps up

So far almost 10,000 vaccinations have been administered, with the state now entering Phase 1b of the rollout - expected to cover a further 180,000 Tasmanians.

On Monday, this will include the long-awaited GP-led stage of administering the AstraZeneca vaccine. Newstead Medical is among about 20 practices across the state who will start administering the vaccine next week.

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Practice partner Dr Toby Gardner said while they, like many practices across the country, were caught off guard when the federal government launched its national vaccine booking website on Wednesday - it was reassuring to know Tasmanians were keen to book in.

"The floodgates were opened really quickly, so we weren't prepared for the volume of calls and questions that came," he said.

"But we had a lot of systems in place and we knew we would be vaccinating from next week, so I think we managed it quite well.

"We are so happy our clinics have been booked up, because it implies there's trust in the community of the vaccine and of us as vaccinators and that people really want life to go back to normal - which will happen once we have vaccinated enough people in the community."

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Dr Gardner said Newstead Medical had already received its supply of AstraZeneca, and was planning to vaccinate up to 400 patients a week from next Tuesday - with clinics fully booked out for the next three weeks. However, he said there was no need for people to worry about missing out.

"The government has invested lots of money in this and there will be enough vaccinations, of all sorts, to cover every Australian," he said.

"We just need to be patient. Even as doctors - lots of us haven't been vaccinated yet, but we know it will happen.

"We have no doubt we will be able to cover everyone, but it's unlikely the goal that Australia's entire population will be covered by the October deadline."

WHO CAN GET IT, AND WHEN?

All Tasmanians aged 18 and over will be able to get a vaccine in 2021. The vaccine will be prioritised for those at higher-risk of being exposed to, or becoming sick from, COVID-19.

Tasmania is now four weeks into Phase 1a, which covers border security and quarantine staff, higher risk frontline health staff, and residents and staff at aged care and disability facilities.

So far, more than 6500 Tasmanians have been vaccinated, including more than 1000 who have already received a second dose.

On Friday Tasmania entered Phase 1b, which will cover people aged 70 and over, remaining healthcare workers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults aged 55 and over, adults with underlying medical conditions, critical and high-risk workers.

This phase is expected to take at least four months to complete.

Phase 2a will cover people aged between 50 and 69, and any other critical or high risk workers. Phase 2b will cover all remaining Tasmanians, aged over 18.

WHERE WILL I GET IT?

Vaccinations are being administered through both GP and state-led clinics. Information on these will be progressively published on the federal government's vaccine clinic finder online.

Participating GPs will also be contacting eligible patients to book vaccinations.

The first community COVID-19 vaccination clinic starts in Kingston on Monday afternoon. Details on further clinics at Launceston (Mowbray), New Norfolk and Brighton are expected next week.

The government expects to vaccinate more than 16,000 Tasmanians across these four clinics, over the next few months.

The government says it will also run pop-up clinics to ensure Tasmanians living in rural areas can be vaccinated. Mobile clinics over the first four weeks are expected to be set up in a number of centres, including Ouse, Huonville, Kempton, George Town and Scottsdale.

These will be advertised locally. There are also three GP-led respiratory clinics that will be delivering vaccinations. These are in Launceston, Hobart (Derwent Park) and St Helens.

HOW DO I KNOW IF I'M ELIGIBLE?

Before attempting to book into a community clinic, Tasmanians must first check to see if they are eligible. This can be done through the federal government's Health Direct eligibility checker.

If you are eligible, you will then be directed to the government's Vaccine Clinic Finder, which will provide details of how to book into a clinic. If you do not have online access, you can ring the national hotline on 1800 020 080.

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