Coronavirus vaccine boost as all country South Australian adults can get a Covid-19 jab
People as young as 16 will now be eligible for Covid-19 vaccinations in regional SA. See the map here.
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All people aged 16 and over living in country South Australia can get a Covid-19 vaccination from Tuesday, in a move set to revitalise the regions and boost the state’s sluggish inoculation rate.
SA is the first state to offer the jab to people as young as 16.
Eligible people can now book a coronavirus jab from up to 35 country vaccination clinics, as regional leaders urge the public to roll up their sleeves to avoid the virus creeping back into communities.
The only thing needed to get the jab is proof of residence in regional SA.
The announcements comes as SA late Monday imposed new border restrictions as the Melbourne Covid-19 continued to grow.
An SA Health map shows people living in the Adelaide Hills and Gawler are eligible for the vaccine, while those in the Playford and Onkaparinga councils miss out.
There are 35 country clinics across SA, but health officials said the changes will not affect all facilities because many offered only AstraZeneca doses for people aged over 50.
Medical advice recommends the Pfizer jab for those aged up to 49.
Rural Doctors Association SA president Peter Rischbieth said making the vaccine widely available to country South Australians was “a great step forward”.
“But we need people to roll up their sleeves because if (the virus) gets into the community, the health services will be stretched,” he said.
“Now the opportunity is there, we know how to deliver these vaccines.
“This is the opportunity to really lead by example, otherwise we will end up being like those other countries that have just been devastated.”
Light Regional Council Mayor Bill O’Brien encouraged residents to help the economic recovery of country SA by booking a jab.
“Tourism is a big part of our economy. We want the travellers and we want them to enjoy our little townships, and we want them to feel safe doing that,” he said.
“If the boot was on the other foot and I was living in Adelaide, I would want to know that I’m safe travelling into our northern towns.”
Chief public health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier said widening the rollout to include younger people was the “sensible” thing to do, because rural SA had already completed the initial stages of the vaccine program.
“One of the things we did early on was establish these clinics in our regional areas,” she said. “We’re using the capacity of those clinics now to be able to offer the vaccine to younger people.”
But Health Minister Stephen Wade anticipated problems meeting demand and urged people to be patient when booking appointments at regional clinics.
“We expect there to be very high levels of interest,” he said.
“Should (people) not be able to secure their appointment at the time they are hoping for at their first attempt, please keep trying.”
It is not clear when the rollout will be extended to the wider Adelaide population. Prof Spurrier said it would “depend on the Commonwealth and our supply of Pfizer”.
After the Northern Territory, SA is the only second jurisdiction to offer jabs to people aged 16 and older.
Premier Steven Marshall said expanding the rollout would boost the state’s inoculation “run rate”.
“We want to maintain the momentum of the vaccination program where access is the biggest challenge – in rural and remote SA,” he said.
“We have established the clinical capacity in the regions, and now we are seizing this opportunity to maximise its impact.”
It is a significant widening of the state’s rollout, which has fully immunised just 2.5 per cent of SA’s 1.4 million adults.
Opposition health spokesman Chris Picton said there was “a huge task ahead” to vaccinate 80 per cent of adults by the end of the year.
Mr Marshall said SA had the highest vaccination rate per capita of any mainland state.
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