Vaccination is key to preventing serious illness and death from COVID-19, but we understand that mass vaccination centres may not be suitable for everyone accessing the vaccine.
To support people with a disability, mental illness, and those who suffer high levels of anxiety towards needles, including children, Monash Health has developed additional pathways to support people receiving their vaccination and being protected from COVID-19.
These pathways include vaccination clinics and pop-up clinics which offer low-sensory environments, additional space, longer appointments, and other accommodations to help and care for the person throughout their visit. You can read more about these options here.
Another option Monash Health provides to people who want to be vaccinated, but suffer higher anxiety levels before and during the process, is vaccination with sedation. Monash Health’s sedation clinic results from the collaboration between Monash Health’s Centre for Developmental Disability Health and Anaesthetics Department. It provides a multi-level sedation pathway for people with more complex needs to receive their COVID-19 vaccination.
The Monash Health sedation clinic team works with the individual to provide tailored assistance, ensuring the sedation support matches the person’s specific needs.
Sedation assistance for vaccination access began following a successful pilot project for people with complex disabilities to receive interventions such as blood tests, immunisations, imaging, and oral health reviews.
To date, Monash Health’s sedation program has assisted over 200 people to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
In addition to the adult vaccination sedation clinic, the Monash Health Immunisation Team commenced a paediatric sedation clinic on 18 November as a VicSIS-approved site. To date, the clinic has had a 100 per cent success rate vaccinating paediatric patients who have a severe history of needle phobia, a disability or both. Over 50 paediatric immunisations have been administered to 22 patients, including COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 vaccines meaning vulnerable young Victorians can be protected against preventable disease. The clinic is booked throughout January, and demand for this service promises to remain high, with COVID-19 vaccination commencing for 5 to 11-year-olds on 10 January. Clinicians can arrange paediatric referrals via the VicSIS User Portal and contact the Monash Health Immunisation Team at immunisation@monashhealth.org for paediatric vaccination sedation queries.
To learn more about the adult clinic and understand whether the sedation vaccination clinic is the best option for you, please get in touch with disability_liaison@monashhealth.org or call (03) 9792 7984.
For other COVID-19 vaccination and testing pathway options for people with a disability, please visit our Information for people with a disability webpage.
Approved by Louise Kanis and Professor Rhonda Stuart