Coronavirus vaccination anxiety prompts Rachel Stephen-Smith call for calm

In response to news of doctor practices receiving abuse from people panicking to organise vaccinations, Ms Stephen-Smith urged Canberrans to be respectful.

"If you are talking to a receptionist, if you are talking to a pharmacist, [or] if you are talking to your general practitioner, be polite and understand that they're facing a bit of uncertainty as well," she said.

"They are being overwhelmed with questions and calls."

Ms Stephen-Smith encouraged Canberrans to get information about the rollout from their GPs, government websites and trusted sources such as national vaccination hotlines.

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The Health Minister also asked Canberrans to manage their expectations of the vaccine rollout.

"Not everybody can be vaccinated at once, and not everyone will get access all at once," she said.

"There is no huge rush to be vaccinated here in the ACT, or indeed Australia.

"We have never had community transmission in the ACT, and we have no community transmission in Australia at this point of time.

"We have a few cases of local transmission that are quite isolated, and our contact tracers are doing a fantastic job ... we are in a fantastic position."

Ms Stephen-Smith said not all GPs in Canberra were eligible to administer the vaccine.

"Some general practices have quite small reception areas and don't have space for people to wait post-vaccination," she said.

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