Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout is well behind schedule, and a nurse says there are serious delays in the recruitment process.

Jo* has done sixteen hours of training to administer COVID-19 vaccines, and is bewildered by delays preventing her from beginning work.

She was hired to work giving COVID-19 vaccinations at Western Health on March 5, but yesterday, got an email informing her that she may not begin work for weeks.

“I got an email saying … ‘A variety of factors are currently contributing to the delay in our recruitments for the Western Health vaccination hub, which is unfortunately resulting in delays to your onboarding and employment,” she told Neil Mitchell.

The email advised it “may be a number of weeks” before she receives further correspondence.

Jo* said she doesn’t understand the hold up.

“I left my previous public health hospital employment to be part of this response,” she said.

“I did a particular immunisation course at my onw expense last year in anticipation of the requirement for more COVID vaccinators out there and here I am sitting around twiddling my thumbs.”

She suspects a shortfall in administration is to blame.

“I suspect that they haven’t been given any more resources in admin over there to do the nuts and bolts of getting people on with employee numbers and computer access and those sorts of things.”

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*not her real name