SA readies vaccine passport plan as it’s revealed no one in Modbury cluster fully-vaxxed

The SA Government is working on a special vaccine passport as it’s revealed no one infected in the Modbury outbreak was fully vaccinated.

The State Government is working with the Commonwealth on a special vaccine passport that would be integrated in its mySAGov app that also houses QR codes, the Premier says.

“Vaccination is our pathway out of this global pandemic and we have already begun extensive planning and the first steps along that journey,” Steven Marshall said.

“With every jab that goes into the arms of a South Australian, the safer our people, and our economy becomes.

“We are working in partnership with the Federal Government on both a national home-quarantine pilot, due to start late August, and a digital vaccine passport.

“We are exploring the potential of integrating (it) with the existing SAGov app, which South Australians have been using for Covid check-in.”

It comes as it was revealed no one in the Modbury cluster of 19 cases was fully vaccinated against Covid-19, although one case has yet to be determined. And in other SA Covid news,

Victoria Park will be the next Covid-19 testing site to accept online bookings (see below).

Chief public health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier said it made her “sad” that more people were not vaccinated as it was “a lifesaver”.

Checks by officials show six of the 19 cases had received one shot while 12 had not had any shots; this includes four who were too young to be vaccinated.

Officials are yet to determine how many people who have tested negative after being at high-risk exposure sites such as Tenafeate Winery and The Greek restaurant were vaccinated.

Prof Spurrier repeated her call for eligible people to be vaccinated as soon as possible, saying the Modbury cluster was a prime example of why it was important.

She also noted the risk posed by the situation in NSW.

SA chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

“I am really, really concerned about NSW; we need to have as many people here vaccinated as possible, it is a way of saving lives,” she said.

“It does make me sad because I think it is preventable, particularly in those age groups where you are eligible.”

Prof Spurrier acknowledged there had been some hesitancy around getting the AstraZeneca jab, adding her husband and mother had taken the vaccine.

“If you are in the eligible age group you should be seeking at that vaccine,” she said.

“I appreciate there was hesitancy when it looked like we had eliminated or at least had no community transmission in Australia, but that is not the case anymore.

“We have got a really serious situation in NSW – if you are eligible for the vaccine please go and get it, it is lifesaving.”

Prof Spurrier indicated the arrival of more Pfizer vaccines from next month may see it opened up to all age groups.

“I will be absolutely thrilled the day we can say everybody from 16 and up can be vaccinated but at the moment people know there are age criteria,” she said.

“We also have the high-risk groups so if anyone is in any of those high-risk groups – particularly younger people who have a chronic health condition – you are eligible, you can go and get your Pfizer now.

“We need to get as many people vaccinated as possible.”

On Sunday, SA broke the 800,000 mark of vaccines given, reaching 805,033.

Officials have an aspirational target of fully vaccinating 80 per cent of the eligible population – about 1.1 million people – which equates to around 1.75 million doses.

As of Wednesday, SA had a stockpile of 55,862 AstraZeneca and 51,053 Pfizer doses. As of Friday 547,747 people had received one dose, and 228,029 had been given two doses.

South Australians were forced to queue for up to 12 hours, with many being turned away, as the state’s testing system buckled under the Modbury cluster strain. Picture: Kelly Barnes

Vic Park now taking bookings online

By Kathryn Bermingham

Victoria Park will be the next Covid-19 testing site to accept online bookings from this week, with the new system aimed at cutting wait times for the thousands who have been ordered to undergo testing.

The site was forced to close due to poor weather over the weekend and was still not operating on Monday.

Premier Steven Marshall Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

It was inundated last week – with waiting times reaching 12 hours – after the state was thrust into lockdown because of the Modbury cluster.

But Premier Steven Marshall said the booking system aimed to prevent such situations when it went live on Wednesday for appointments from Thursday onwards.

“This is really going to address the problem that we’ve had between demand and supply in the early days of this cluster,” he said.

“Instead of people waiting for a long period of time in the lines, they can wait at home and just present themselves in the hour in which they have been allocated.”

An online system has already been implemented and bookings are now essential for testing at Ridgehaven Waterworld and the Repat Health Precinct.

Mr Marshall said there had already been “a huge number” of online bookings. On Monday, both sites had some appointments available within the next 24 hours.

The new Mile End Netball Stadium testing site is not yet accepting online bookings, but waiting times were less than five minutes at some points over the weekend. The site is open 24 hours a day until further notice.