Expand the COVID-19 vaccine strategy and provide Australians with COVID-19 treatments.
The Government will provide additional funding over 5 years from 2022-23 to expand the COVID-19 vaccine strategy and provide Australians with COVID-19 treatments. Funding includes:
* $757.4 million over two years from 2022-23 to ensure access to a range of vaccine administration channels, including community pharmacies, Primary Health Networks and the Vaccine Administration Partnership Program
* $285.5 million over two years from 2022-23 to protect priority groups from COVID-19, by providing states and territories 50 per cent of the cost for Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing and agreed price per COVID-19 vaccination dose delivered for Australians most at risk of severe COVID-19 and death
* $250.5 million over two years from 2022-23 to extend Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) items for PCR pathology testing for COVID-19 and other respiratory pathogens to 31 December 2023
* $160.2 million over two years from 2022-23 for additional COVID-19 vaccine procurement and logistic arrangements, and to extend the Essential Vaccines Schedule
* $61.6 million over two years from 2022-23 to continue resourcing for the National COVID-19 Vaccine Program
* $57.3 million over two years from 2022-23 to extend support for First Nations Australians to access COVID-19 testing and vaccinations to 30 June 2024
* $43.0 million over two years from 2022-23 to invest in ICT infrastructure to prepare for future pandemic events and extend existing COVID-19 programs
* $14.3 million over two years from 2022-23 to extend Commonwealth funding for Healthdirect's Living with COVID service to 31 December 2023
* $14.2 million over two years from 2022-23 to extend MBS items for general practitioners (GPs) to undertake telehealth consultations to evaluate eligible COVID-positive patients' suitability for oral antivirals
* $12.7 million over 5 years from 2022-23 to establish and maintain a scalable GP-led Respiratory Clinic Panel, to be activated in response to another COVID-19 wave or other major health emergency
* $4.7 million in 2023-24 to partner with culturally and linguistically diverse communities to boost COVID-19 vaccination rates
* $3.9 million over two years from 2022-23 to support COVID-19 expert advisory groups and rapid health technology assessments to provide advice on COVID-19 vaccines and treatments
* $3.1 million in 2022-23 to support digital mental health services to meet increased demand driven by the COVID-19 pandemic
* $0.8 million over two years from 2022-23 to support cardiac magnetic resonance imaging for mRNA COVID-19 vaccine-associated myocarditis
* $0.7 million over two years from 2023-24 to improve the detection of COVID-19 in wastewater samples from selected inbound Qantas flights, and to test incoming passengers from China, Hong Kong and Macau. The Government has made further COVID-19 treatment and vaccine purchases under existing advance purchase agreements on the advice of the Science and Industry Technical Advisory Group, including:
* the treatment tixagevimab and cilgavimab (Evusheld)
* the Moderna COVID-19 bivalent BA.4/5 vaccine (Spikevax). The financial implications of the COVID-19 treatment purchases are not for publication (nfp) due to commercial sensitivities. The Government will also:
* maintain access to Medicare rebates for telehealth appointments for patients with COVID-19, regardless of whether they have an existing clinical relationship with a general practitioner, and subsidise consultations for vulnerable people with suspected COVID-19 to obtain a referral for a PCR test Health and Aged Care |
* support eligible doctors and midwives through continued access to the Run-Off Cover Scheme by extending the medical indemnity legislative arrangements to address workforce shortages arising from COVID-19. This measure will be partially met through the existing resources of the Department of Health and Aged Care. Commonwealth payments to the States are managed by the Treasury. This measure builds on the 2022-23 March Budget measure titled Guaranteeing Medicare- strengthening primary care, 2022-23 October Budget measure COVID-19 Package - Hospitals and Emergency Response, COVID-19 Package - Personal Protective Equipment and Rapid Antigen Tests, COVID-19 Response Package - Vaccine and Treatments, and COVID-19 Response Package - COVID-19 Vaccine Program, and the 2020-21 MYEFO measure COVID-19 Response Package-vaccination and treatments.