Following central government’s recent announcement of its roll-out plan for the Covid-19 vaccine, Waiheke medical centres are in the early stages of preparing for a vaccination programme on the island.
Nurse lead at Ostend Medical Centre, Jessica Mead, told Gulf News that last week the clinic indicated to authorities that it would like to vaccinate at the clinic.
The clinic would be likely to run the programme similarly to how a flu vaccination clinic was run last year using a separate building which would mean the vaccination programme could continue at any Covid-alert level, she says.
However, unlike with flu vaccinations, people would need to be booked in for their Covid-19 vaccination because of storage requirements and because it is necessary to receive two doses 21 days apart.
While vaccination of border workers and frontline medical staff is underway at the moment, vaccination of the general population will start with priority groups including those aged over 65 years and people who are immune compromised.
Details still to be tied down include the logistics of getting the vaccines to Waiheke. Once here, the vaccines will be stored in fridges specific for vaccines where they can be kept for five days. All vaccinators will also have to complete a training programme specifically for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, Jessica says.• Erin Johnson
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