Good morning, I am Dr Lucas De Toca and I lead the Department of Health's primary-care response to COVID-19. Welcome to top three. Today I'm joined by Linda who will be doing Auslan interpreting. Thank you Linda. We're in the land of the Ngunawal people. Dhawra nhuna, dhawra Ngunawal. Yanggu gulanyin ngalawiri, dhunayi, Ngunawal dhawra. Wanggarralijinyin mariny balan bugarabang. I also acknowledge that we're in Reconciliation Week and yesterday was National Sorry Day, so pay my respects to the survivors of the undead relatives of the people who suffered from the stolen generations. My shout out today goes to the people in Victoria, particularly Melbourne. You've been through the motions, you know what you're doing but we are really grateful that you're doing the right thing. You're getting tested, if you're a contact you're getting tested, if you have symptoms you're staying at home if you can and we are really grateful for your CovidSafe behaviours and what you're doing to keep the cluster contained and keep the rest of Australia safe.
First question, when and how do I use the Vaccine Eligibility Checker?
The short answer is anytime. The Vaccine Eligibility Checker is a tool that is available on health.gov.au, the Department of Health website, or you just google 'Vaccine Eligibility Checker', and it's an online facility or an online tool that allows you to check whether you're eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine. It's pretty straightforward, if you if you think of the name. It's also available over the phone on the healthdirect National Coronavirus Helpline on 1800 020 080 and what it does is it asks you a number of questions about your age, your demographic or your occupation, and then lets you know whether you are currently eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine or whether you aren't. If you are not eligible, it gives you an opportunity to then register your interest so that you get a text message or some sort of notification when you become eligible in different phases of the vaccine rollout. Remember, at the moment COVID-19 vaccines are available for anyone 50 years and over, including people who are not Australian citizens, people who are not permanent residents, regardless of your visa status, regardless of your whether you're eligible for Medicare or not, if you're 50 years and over you can get your COVID-19 vaccine from any of the thousands of primary-care facilities, GPs, Aboriginal Community Control Health Services, state and territory vaccination clinics, or the Commonwealth vaccination clinics. All of them you can find on the Eligibility Checker. If you are under 50, you're eligible if you're considered to be in one of the at-risk groups, on what we call phases 1a or 1b, you're an occupation that is at risk of exposure from Covid, like you're an aged care worker or a disability worker or healthcare worker or some critical and emergency workers, like police or firemen and firewomen. Also for people who have underlying medical conditions, people who are immunocompromised and are high risk of severe outcome from Covid, and also people with severe, significant disability. So go online, health.gov.au, enter your questions in the Eligibility Checker. If you're 50 years and over, it's really straightforward, they ask you for your age and then whether you're identify as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person, and your state, and then you can go and find a clinic out of thousands where you can book an appointment for your COVID-19 vaccine.
Second question, what is the AusVaxSafety COVID-19 survey and what is it used for?
