Vax clinic for Scottsdale

By Tony Scott,
June 09, 2021

A government vaccination clinic is to be set up in Scottsdale for four days at the end of the month to deliver Astra Zeneca jabs to anyone over 50.

The clinic will be held at the Scottsdale Squash Club, 26 Arthur Street, Scottsdale.

Deputy Secretary of the Health Department Dale Webster said the decisions on where the pop-up clinics operated in regional areas were based on population and rates of vaccinations uptake.

“Monitoring of the Australian immunisation register has shown that the vaccinations are going quite a bit slower in the North-East.

“General practices are doing their best, but with their regular work load it means there’s only so many they can get through.”

He said the clinics would operate during the afternoon of Sunday June 27 and the next morning Monday June 28.

There would be a repeat of those sessions the following week, Sunday July 4 and Monday July 5.

Appointments for the clinics have opened to be made on line at www.health.gov.au or by calling the public health hotline 1800 678 731.

Mr Webster said appointments to date were at a fairly low level.

“People should allow 30 to 45 minutes for an appointment.

“That will allow a period of observation after the vaccination and time to make an appointment for the follow up shot.”

The process will be repeated in 12 weeks.

The clinic will be staffed by eight personnel, with a receptionist passing people on to nurse immunisers.

Mr Webster said rates of vaccinations will continue to be monitored to determine if there was a call for additional clinics to be set up, including for the 40 to 49 year age bracket with the Pfizer vaccine.

The North-East’s older demographic had contributed to the decision to make Astra Zeneca available at Scottsdale, whereas a Pfizer clinic was held in Smithton last week, because of a younger population, some of whom are meatworkers, who are considered high risk.