Teachers, preschool staff to get priority Pfizer, AZ access in school holidays

School and preschool staff will get priority walk-in access to Pfizer and AZ jabs over the break in the latest effort to drive up SA’s vaccine stats.

Tens of thousands of South Australian teachers and preschool staff will get priority access to a Covid-19 vaccine without an appointment during the school holidays to help boost jab rates.

The State Government will announce today that educators will be able to walk in to SA Health’s main hubs during the two-week break if they had not yet had their first dose of AstraZeneca or Pfizer.

It follows calls for teachers to be given priority access to the vaccine as frontline workers.

Educators will be able to turn up at the Wayville, Elizabeth, Enfield or Noarlunga clinics from Friday with evidence of their work. There are 47,000 SA school and preschool teachers and staff.

The Wayville Vaccine hub at the Adelaide Showgrounds. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

Health Minister Stephen Wade said teachers and education staff were “providing a vital service for our society”.

Education department chief executive Rick Persse said making it easier for staff to get a jab was “an important step in helping … reduce risks during a possible outbreak”.

Vaccination is not mandatory for department staff.

The Australian Education Union last month warned its repeated requests to prioritise teachers behind health and frontline workers had been ignored after members were told to schedule appointments outside of school hours.

Health Minister Stephen Wade Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

SA Health will today open a second walk-in vaccination clinic, at the SA Produce Market in Pooraka in Adelaide’s north, where up to 1500 vaccines will be administered a week. Dozens of chemists will also this week start giving the Moderna vaccine.

Last week, the government announced all year 11 and year 12 students older than 16 can have walk-in Pfizer jabs at SA Health clinics this month, ahead of end-of-year exams.

No data is available on how many teachers or students are unvaccinated but SA Health figures show 3069 teenagers aged 16 to 19 got a first jab last week and 1228 their second.

More than 103,000 doses were given last week after Pfizer jabs were also offered to teenagers aged 12 to 15 and to adults older than 60, compared to more than 89,000 the previous week and almost 94,000 a fortnight ago.

The state’s rollout, criticised for being among the nation’s slowest, has reached 44.1 per cent of adults fully vaccinated, with almost two-thirds on one dose.

The first walk-in clinic at Rundle Mall’s Myer Centre last week gave out 811 doses.

Figures show 1720 youngsters aged 12 to 15 got their first jab last week and 44 a second.

Despite concerns raised at national cabinet about a shortage of Pfizer, senior government sources say it has not yet affected SA’s rollout.

SA Health has 115,764 doses of Pfizer and 23,410 AstraZeneca stockpiled.

On Monday, Doherty Institute epidemiology director Professor Jodie McVernon, who advises national cabinet, said rules were needed when rates hit 80 per cent because the vaccine would not “stop Covid in its tracks”, although it was “extraordinarily effective”.