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Speaker 1: First, I've may one of the things to think about

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Speaker 1: is a flu vaccine, if you haven't already. Mark Duncan

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Speaker 1: Smith from the AMA is joining us. Good morning, Mark.

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Speaker 2: Hi Dot, It's good morning, good morning, good morning listeners.

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Speaker 1: Now the state government has announced free flu shots for everyone.

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Speaker 1: Like last year, I certainly took advantage of it as

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Speaker 1: we head toward what's being called a triple whammy this winter.

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Speaker 1: What is a triple whammy?

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Speaker 2: Well, first of all, I'd like to compliment the McGowan government.

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Speaker 2: It is a great initiative to provide these free vaccines

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Speaker 2: to people over the age of six months. It really

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Speaker 2: is a terrific initiative. Triple whammy is basically the problem

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Speaker 2: of covid, flu and RSV, all occurring at a peak

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Speaker 2: of around August September. And what we're seeing at this

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Speaker 2: stage for the figures so far for twenty twenty three

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Speaker 2: is that where we're going to have a nasty year.

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Speaker 2: We're going to have probably one of the worst years

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Speaker 2: on record. Twenty nineteen was a very bad year. This

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Speaker 2: was before covid started. Yes four flu and our numbers

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Speaker 2: for flu are already trending higher than twenty nineteen.

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Speaker 3: Unfortunately, we've how to wash the hands and keep it tidy.

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Speaker 3: Market's gone on.

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Speaker 2: Well, absolutely, we're there's I think there's a bit of

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Speaker 2: complacency out there. And we've also got international travel which

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Speaker 2: has come back online. So unfortunately influenza flu viruses couples

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Speaker 2: around the world via the airports, and we've got that happening. Yes,

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Speaker 2: people need to arc up with their personal hygiene, washing hands,

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Speaker 2: coffee into their elbows, staying home if they're unwell, and

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Speaker 2: it's really important that everyone keeps their vaccination up to

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Speaker 2: date and that includes COVID as well as flu.

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Speaker 1: It also doesn't help the WA has the lowest flu

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Speaker 1: vaccination rate in the country.

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Speaker 2: Why do you think that is? Yeah, Look, I think

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Speaker 2: it's partly because we do tend to lag behind the

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Speaker 2: East Coast a little bit, much as we did with

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Speaker 2: the COVID numbers as well. I think it's because the

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Speaker 2: weather here is better for longer. People don't realize that

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Speaker 2: we're getting into winter as soon as we are. And

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Speaker 2: there's prob a little bit of complacency here because we

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Speaker 2: did just have such a lucky break with respect to

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Speaker 2: COVID and that COVID was not anywhere near a severe

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Speaker 2: here as it was in the Eastern States or anywhere

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Speaker 2: else in the world for that matter.

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Speaker 3: True, and Mark I being the last few year's gone

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Speaker 3: to the pharmacy for the flu shop. But is it

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Speaker 3: okay to making an appointment with the GP or is

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Speaker 3: that just clog things up that end?

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Speaker 2: No?

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Speaker 3: No, No.

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Speaker 2: Basically you can go to pharmacies and also to GPS.

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Speaker 2: I think, especially if people have very very very complex

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Speaker 2: medical problems aren't sure if they're vaccinations right for them,

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Speaker 2: I think they're good. GP's a good place to get

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Speaker 2: that specific complex advice. Then yes, can see they trusted

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Speaker 2: GP as well for that.

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Speaker 1: I don't mind admitting I used to be one of

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Speaker 1: those silly people who used to say I'm not getting

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Speaker 1: a flu shot because when they give you a flu shot,

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Speaker 1: they're putting the flu in you and you get a

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Speaker 1: dose of the flu. Well, the last couple of years

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Speaker 1: I have had a flu shot and that wasn't the case.

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Speaker 1: But I think there are still some people that believe that.

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Speaker 1: What would you say to them?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Look, these vaccinations very well tested and very well

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Speaker 2: thought out. They're specifically targeted for the variants of influenza

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Speaker 2: FLU that are running around the world at the time,

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Speaker 2: and look, they're very well tolerated and very safe. I

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Speaker 2: get a flu shot regularly. I'll be getting another one

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Speaker 2: this year. But I also urge people to keep their

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Speaker 2: COVID status up to date as well. COVID is still

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Speaker 2: out there. It's very underreported. It's underreported by a factor

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Speaker 2: of at least between two and ten times underreported currently,

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Speaker 2: so there's a lot out there now. If you get

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Speaker 2: covid and flu together, well then you're really not going

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Speaker 2: to have a great time of it. So make sure

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Speaker 2: you keep the COVID vaccination up to date too.

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Speaker 1: Can you get those vaccines together at the same time

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Speaker 1: on the same day, two japs.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you can get them at the same time, same day,

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Speaker 2: different arms, So yes, you can go in and get

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Speaker 2: that done as well. What we will probably see sometime

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Speaker 2: in the future, which will probably be years, is there'll

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Speaker 2: probably be a combined covid flu vaccine with one injection,

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Speaker 2: but that's probably years away.

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Speaker 3: Cover all the basis. So I just want to bring

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Speaker 3: up prescriptions this morning, Mark and the changes to the

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Speaker 3: PBS of like, what are you what's your take on it?

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Speaker 2: Look, I think it's a brilliant move by the federal government. Ultimately,

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Speaker 2: this will make medicines a lot more affordable to the

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Speaker 2: people of Australia. There's a lot of scare mongering by

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Speaker 2: the Farmers Pharmacy Owners Guild about shortages, but that just

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Speaker 2: doesn't stack up. I mean, if you've got the same

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Speaker 2: number of pills being dispensed giving people double them out,

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Speaker 2: but they're presenting half as many times, you're not. Actually

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Speaker 2: there's no extra pills being distributed. No, I think it's

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Speaker 2: just scare mongering by the Pharmacy Owners Guild.

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Speaker 1: Another thing that we're interested in your thoughts on is

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Speaker 1: the new women and Children's Hospital being moved now. It's

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Speaker 1: going to be moved to q E two from QY

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Speaker 1: two to Fiona Stanley. Wasn't there originally talk of it

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Speaker 1: being a move to the children's the like this is

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Speaker 1: the you know the baby wasn't there originally going to

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Speaker 1: be in the same place as the children's hospital.

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Speaker 2: You look the Reed Report and also the international best

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Speaker 2: standards are that you do co locate the women's and

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Speaker 2: newborns with the pat hospital and that was always the

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Speaker 2: plan the government for reasons because the medical profession was

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Speaker 2: quite simply not consulted about this change from Q two

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Speaker 2: to FI understanding. Now, I've been calling on the McGowan

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Speaker 2: government to release the business case for both the Q

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Speaker 2: two site and the Filda Standley side, because there must

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Speaker 2: be a business case for Fiona's Stanley site, which appears

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Speaker 2: to have been developed in a very clandestine, secret way

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Speaker 2: and essentially the medical fraternity was blindsided. Now, it may

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Speaker 2: be that Fionda Stanley is the right decision, but it

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Speaker 2: may be that Q two is the right decision, but

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Speaker 2: no one else knows because it's been done in a

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Speaker 2: very very very quiet way. The biggest change I can be, well,

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Speaker 2: it is because the biggest change I've seen is that

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Speaker 2: the new completion date is twenty twenty nine. No, but

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Speaker 2: that's three or four years earlier, which is great.

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Speaker 3: No, Okay, that's all every long way away for both

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Speaker 3: of us.

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Speaker 2: But however it just happens to coincide with them we

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Speaker 2: go and government are going to be going for a

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Speaker 2: fourth term relection.

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Speaker 3: Okay, coincidence, I'm sure.

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Speaker 2: So let's see the business cases, Let's have a bit

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Speaker 2: of transparency and let the people of wester industry understand.

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Speaker 1: The reason transparency is key.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, we like that. You've got to use the word

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Speaker 3: plan de time this morning. It's one of our favorites.

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Speaker 1: The other way they can and the things take away

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Speaker 1: from today. Get into the pharmacy or your doctor and

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Speaker 1: get the flu shot.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, get your flu shot. Keep your co

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Speaker 1: Vaccination up to day demark Duncan Smith Take care day

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Speaker 1: by