Sunshine Coast residents are being urged to make the most of a state-wide vaccination ‘blitz’ this weekend.
Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service will be accepting walk-ins for Pfizer on Saturday and Sunday for people aged over 12.
Vaccination hubs across the state are taking part in the attempt to ramp up vaccination numbers.
Sunshine Coast Health’s Nursing Director Clinical Services Amy Holmes said she was looking forward to welcoming more locals to community vaccine clinics.
“We’ve had lots of interest from our community, that always comes forward and roles up their sleeves, and is excited to do so,” Ms Holmes said.
“We’d love to see families, friends, lots of people coming forward and getting vaccinated.
“We will have some limited availability for walk in appointments at Sunshine Coast University Hospital on Saturday and Sunday, and Nambour General Hospital on Saturday and Sunday, and we have a great service running at the Gympie Civic Centre on both Saturday and Sunday. We have lots of available appointments in that Centre.”
From Friday 8 October 2021, Sunshine Coast residents will have even greater access to the COVID-19 vaccine, when the Caloundra Indoor Stadium returns as a community vaccination location.
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Health Minister Yvette D’Ath urged Queenslanders to make the most of the weekend.
Almost half the doses needed to vaccinate eligible Queenslanders have now been administered, with 4.125 million jabs given since vaccinations began seven months ago.
With long-awaited supplies from the Commonwealth starting to ramp up, Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young hopes the second half will be administered in a fraction of that time.
“We are starting to get that big ramp-up in vaccine supply that we’ve been promised for many months now,” Doctor Young said on Friday.
“It’s taken us since the 22nd of February, when we did the first vaccination of a nurse on the Gold Coast, to get half of the doses out the door. The aim is over the next month or two to get the rest out.”
Ms D’Ath told Queenslanders they would soon be able to choose from three vaccines, regardless of age.
“GPs and community pharmacies have been delivering AstraZeneca, Queensland Health has been delivering Pfizer. Now we’re all starting to move into the same space,” she said.
From next week the Moderna vaccine will also be in the mix at community pharmacies, and Queensland Health is waiting to hear if the commonwealth will also supply it with that vaccine.
“There’s going to be lots of choices out there for people,” the minister said. “It’s about time everyone gets the choice of different vaccines that are available to them.”
She also revealed Queensland GPs had missed out on Pfizer doses promised by the Commonwealth, and that they had been diverted to NSW.
“We’ve been advised by the Commonwealth that that stock should be replenished to us, and corrected, some time in November,” she said.
“We hope it can come to us before November.”
For vaccine bookings visit http://www.health.qld.gov.au/vaccinebookings
