Health Minister Yvette D’Ath confirms Covid vaccine clinic for Cairns Airport

A new vaccination clinic has been confirmed for Cairns and the announcement came with a stark warning from state health authorities about the situation facing the Far North.

A NEW pop-up vaccination clinic has been announced for Cairns – and it came with a stark warning from state health authorities about the situation facing the Far North.

Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath and Deputy Chief Health Officer Dr James Smith were in Cairns on Thursday to announce the new clinic, which will be set up at Cairns Airport.

The clinic will run Friday to Monday from 6am until 1.30pm from October 22 and is a bid to boost vaccination rates across the region.

Dr Smith warned Far Northerners the virus “is absolutely coming”.

“There’s no way we can stop it,” he said.

“Borders or not, it is coming to Queensland.”

Queensland Health worker Tracy McKenzie talks with Health and Ambulance Services Minister Yvette D'Ath at the Cairns Convention Centre on Thursday. Picture: Peter Carruthers

He said while the community was generally getting on board with vaccinations, authorities were concerned about some pockets of the region where rates were particularly low.

“We’re really worried that the virus may rip through those communities,” he said.

Dr Smith said the more people got vaccinated, the more freedoms the rest of the community would have.

“Each person who gets vaccinated is not just protecting themselves, but they’re reducing their ability to spread the infection,” he said,

“Therefore it will also lower the burden on our hospital system.”

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While Ms D’Ath said she was very concerned about Cairns low vaccination rates, she confirmed rapid antigen testing would not be used to detect travellers at Cairns Airport.

“We will continue the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing at this stage, particularly for the border controls because the accuracy is so high,” she said.

Cairns Airport boss Richard Baker said being the gateway to FNQ meant they needed to also keep in mind the importance of protecting many remote communities which could be potentially compromised by Covid.

“So we’ve set up with Queensland Health a drop-in centre for vaccinations,” he said,

“You don’t need to be travelling, you can get vaccinated at any time from Friday... and we’re providing free parking.”

Tourism Tropical North Queensland chief executive Mark Olsen urged people to roll up their sleeves and get the jab as one on five jobs in Cairns is tourism related.

”A billion dollars of visitor expenditure comes into this Cairns community every year from international tourism,” he said.

“It supports jobs, and supports a vibrant community, our quality of life is underpinned by the tourism community domestically and internationally so there’s no longer an excuse to not have your vaccination.”

Originally published as Health Minister Yvette D’Ath confirms Covid vaccine clinic for Cairns Airport