Queensland Health opens 18 vaccination hubs aged care workers and people aged 40-49
Queensland Health will open 18 COVID vaccination hubs this weekend with the aim of vaccinating 15,000 people, including aged care and frontline workers, and Queenslanders have already responded en masse.
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Hundreds of people have joined growing queues at a Brisbane vaccination hub following news the Queensland Government will open 18 hubs across the state this weekend.
Queues at the Rocklea Showgrounds hub stretched hundreds of metres outside the building as the government warned “walk-ins” not to arrive without an appointment.
The focus of the hubs this weekend would be for frontline workers, aged care staff and 40-49 year olds who have registered for the jab.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said the hubs would only be open to the 30,000 people aged between 40 and 49 who have registered to get vaccinated.
It comes after Queensland recorded two new cases in the past 24 hours - both acquired overseas and detected in hotel quarantine.
The hubs will also be open for aged care and frontline workers. They will not be open to walk-ins.
Ms D’Ath also urged anyone who had visited the nine COVID-19 exposure sites in NSW to follow the health guidelines which includes getting tested immediately and to self-isolate.
She called on all aged care workers to register for the vaccine in a bid to get them all vaccinated within three weeks.
The three new hubs will be at the Logan Entertainment Centre, the Rocklea Showgrounds and Springfield Tower.
All 18 hubs will be open on Saturday, with 10 of them open on Sunday, with officials hoping to complete 15,000 vaccinations over the weekend.
Ms D’Ath urged people who were 50 and over to still go to a GP to get the vaccine instead of the Queensland government hubs.
Ms D’Ath stressed the hubs were not for the general public or to walk ins.
“I want to be clear, these sites are not for the general public,” she said.
“It is not open to walk-ins.
“This is open to the 40- to 49-year-olds who have been registering with us.
“Over 30,000 have registered with us so far to get vaccinated.
“And also, our residential aged care and disability workers who will get absolute priority over the weekend so that we can get them fully vaccinated.”
Deputy Chief Health Officer Dr Sonya Bennett said it was ‘largely unknown’ if there has been transmission in NSW.
‘We’ve always known COVID-19 is highly transmissible. What is unusual about this virus is sometimes it doesn’t transmit at all and other times it transmits without close contact,” she said.
Dr Bennett also confirmed that the current border restrictions for Victoria would remain in place for at least another seven days.
“We’re keen to lift those (restrictions) as soon as possible, but we really want to provide the community confidence that when they’re lifted, they will remain lifted,” Dr Bennett said.
“We’re really looking for ... some assurance that there’s no unknown transmission in Victoria and Greater Melbourne.”
Dr Bennett said there was “no rule” at the moment over how the border restrictions would be lifted.
“It really is an ongoing review,” she said.
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