More than 20 Canberra GPs to administer Pfizer by end of July

Nine clinics will add Pfizer to the list of available vaccines this week, with more than 20 ACT centres to be administering Pfizer by the end of July.

They are among 500 GPs nationally to start Pfizer this week, with a further 800 to join in the coming weeks.

Waramanga Medical Centre practice manager Samm Julian Curtis said the centre would start administering Pfizer on July 13 and was already booked out until August.

The centre was provided 120 doses for the first two weeks, which will then more than double to 300 a fortnight.

Ms Julian Curtis said there had been a huge demand for Pfizer at the southside clinic, adding changing messaging had increased pressure on local doctors.

"If anyone is equipped to do it, and knows a community well enough, I think it's general practices," she said.

"But I think that it has been underestimated ... the work and the resources needed."

There had been a lot of hesitancy around the AstraZeneca jab at that clinic, which Ms Julian Curtis said was starting to decrease.

She added the new Medicare item designed to allow doctors to take the time to discuss vaccines with hesitant patients could only be used if they chose to get the jab on the same day.

"I'm yet to bill it, so I don't think it's been particularly helpful," she said.

Wattle Street Medical Practice started administering Pfizer on Monday.

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One of the clinic's GPs Adair Ferguson said appointments for every dose available in the next few weeks had already been filled.

Dr Ferguson said the clinic had received 240 doses for the next two weeks and a further 600 doses were due to arrive from July 16.

Dr Ferguson was optimistic GPs would help speed up the languishing vaccine rollout, adding the ACT was going "pretty well" compared to other states.

People aged 40 to 59, or eligible for Pfizer under phases 1a and 1b of the rollout, can book in.

Pfizer is also available at the ACT government-run clinics at Garran and the Canberra Airport precinct.

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