State-run vaccination centres to remain open for booster shots

State-run vaccination centres will continue to operate for booster shots as local Covid cases continue to rise across the nation.

State and territory governments have agreed to keep their mass vaccination sites open over summer to make sure the nation’s booster program hits its targets.

On Friday, Health Minister Greg Hunt wrote to his state and territory counterparts calling for them to halt plans to shut state-run vaccination centres, as the majority of them were meant to shut down in coming weeks.

The call came in the wake of surging case numbers thanks to the Omicron variant, which has governments around the world scrambling to turbocharge their booster programs.

Senior federal sources said NSW had also been “highly constructive” in looking at keeping as many state-run clinics open as possible.

Victoria has pledged to keep all of its state-run clinics open, while Queensland has also agreed to keep as many open as it can.

Governments around the world are pushing for citizens to get booster shots. Picture: Leon Neal/Getty

The federal government is satisfied supply is not an issue, with sufficient doses to ensure everyone in Australia who is eligible for a booster dose can receive it over the festive ­period.

As of Friday there were more than 5.9 million doses in pharmacies, GPs and state clinics ready to be ­administered.

All up there are 13.3 million doses of mRNA vaccines in federal warehouses that are destined for 10,128 rollout ­locations.

On Thursday 117,000 people received a booster, with almost one million Australians already triple jabbed.

Since Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation cut the recommended wait time between second and third jabs from six to five months the government has been pushing GPs and pharmacies to increase the amount of vaccine they are ordering.

The call has led to 3206 ­urgent orders for 370,000 extra doses.

All up there are now 5587 vaccine orders set to see 1,722,812 doses delivered next week.

The government has also established an urgent supply squad that can move supplies between clinics in situations where places are in danger of running out.

Co-ordinator General of Operation Covid Shield, Lieutenant General J.J. Frewen said he was looking forward to continuing to work closely with all the states and territories to successfully roll out the booster doses.

“We are hitting record numbers of boosters – and I just encourage everyone who is due for their booster to make an appointment as soon as possible,” he said.

He said supply was not an issue and there were enough doses to ensure everyone in Australia who is eligible for a booster dose can receive it over the Christmas-New Year period.

“The taskforce continues to work with pharmacies and general practices across the country to ensure they have the doses they need,” he said.