SA COVID vaccinations to start Monday as state records two new cases

SA’s special COVID hotel started operation for the first time after two new cases emerged – and frontline health workers will get the vaccine from Monday.

The long-awaited coronavirus vaccine rollout begins in South Australia on Monday, with authorities urging people to get a jab to help ease restrictions.

The State Government has revealed more than 12,000 frontline workers will receive the Pfizer vaccine over a three-week period from February 22.

SA Health has installed ultra-cold storage fridges from the US at the Flinders Medical Centre and Royal Adelaide Hospital hubs to house the first 4000 doses at temperatures of at least -70C.

Officials aim to vaccinate at least 1726 “high-risk” workers involved in hotel quarantine and a range of duties at the airport, along with at-risk frontline health staff.

Premier Steven Marshall said on Wednesday he was confident the ambitious vaccine targets would be met.

“This is the largest logistic peacetime exercise in the history of Australia but because of all the planning work we have done, we expect this to rollout very, very smoothly,” he said.

Another seven hubs to administer the vaccines will open in major public hospitals as the rollout grows, but it will be mostly city-based workers in its first phase.

Commonwealth medical teams will carry out the vaccine program at aged- care facilities throughout SA. Police Commissioner Grant Stevens and chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier, pictured, said getting vaccinated was pivotal to easing current restrictions.

Mr Stevens, who is state COVID co-ordinator, said: “It is critical for us to see this vaccine get out as quickly as possible because it will be one of those significant triggers that see us being able to relax more restrictions.”

A Covid freezer arrives at Flinders Medical Centre. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Insisting jabs were safe, Professor Spurrier said the “first vaccine will be going into the arm of one of our medi-hotel workers” on Monday. She said vaccinations “will definitely increase our chances” of returning to “normality”.

“The important thing is the more people that get vaccinated the more quickly we will be able to get back to that situation,” Prof Spurrier told an SA Health online forum.

“And if we don’t have a good uptake of the vaccine, unfortunately the pandemic could drag on for a lot longer.

“So, definitely this is a really good reason to think about being vaccinated.”

The latest sick expatriate, aged in his 40s, was on Wednesday night recovering at the Tom’s Court Hotel facility, in the CBD.

The hotel has had more than $200,000 worth of upgrades, including overhauled ventilation, more CCTV and laser sensor doors.

Another man in his 50s has an old infection but three “active” patients remain at the Pullman medi-hotel.

The state’s virus case tally is 608, while 6195 tests have been conducted in the past 24 hours, bring the total number to 1,047,665.

Authorities have granted 314 exemptions for tennis players and coaches at a special women’s tournament at Memorial Drive next week.

In new legal directions signed by Mr Stevens on Wednesday night, regional Victoria travellers were allowed unrestricted travel into SA if they have not been in Greater Melbourne and the Shire of Mitchell within the past 14 days.

The new laws state these visitors also do not have any testing or quarantine requirements unless they are deemed an essential traveller or SA Health has advised differently.