Wollongong COVID vaccine clinic opens as Pfizer rollout begins

Take a rare look inside one of the state’s first regional COVID-19 vaccination clinics, as the first jabs roll out across NSW.

Exactly one year after the Illawarra Shoalhaven Health District confirmed its first case of coronavirus, frontline workers have started receiving vaccinations for the virus across the Wollongong area.

The public has been given a glimpse inside Wollongong’s new vaccination hub, with the first frontline staff, including NSW Ambulance paramedics, receiving the Pfizer vaccine, administered by local nurse immunisers.

The district’s Infectious Diseases Specialist, Dr Niladri Ghosh was the first person to receive the vaccine in the Wollongong Hospital Hub, exactly one year after he treated the region’s first confirmed COVID patient.

Dr. Niladri Ghosh becomes the first in the Wollongong area to receive to vaccine from Immunisation co-ordinator Natasa Veselinovic.

“I saw first-hand the impacts of this pandemic. I am so excited to now see the vaccination being rolled out in Australia as it’s such an important step in stopping the transmission of COVID-19,” he said.

“I feel very privileged to have received the vaccine today and I strongly encourage everyone to have it when it’s their turn.

More than 3000 local staff are expected to receive the jab by August.

Dr Ghosh also had some words of encouragement for the public, assuring the jab “didn’t hurt”.

Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery Deborah Cameron said opening the hub was an exciting milestone for the district, and that the response to vaccinations from frontline workers had been overwhelming so far.

Inside the Illawarra's COVID-19 vaccination hub at Wollongong Hospital.

“The excitement is palpable to be able to do this down here and to say I was a bit anxious when this morning came around was an understatement but within two hours we had a really steady flow going,” she said.

“It is going to be very, very successful.”

By August, up to 4000 frontline hospital workers will be vaccinated in the Illawarra, while up between 600 and 700 port workers will also be vaccinated.

Ms Cameron said vaccinations would be done in three week blocks, with up to 350 staff expected to be vaccinated on the hub’s first day of operation.

The first doses arrived at Wollongong's COVID-19 vaccination hub on Sunday evening.

The hub has been set up into 12 “vaccination stations”, each one with a dedicated nurse immuniser.

Immunisers are given ready to go doses of the jab by other nurses and pharmacists, who have drawn up precise quantities from the six-dose vials.

After staff have been vaccinated, they undergo short observation in a dedicated area, with the whole process taking about 45 minutes.

Due to the necessary temperature control of the Pfizer vaccine, the vials are stored in a freezer at the hospital, which is usually used for cancer trials and research.

The Wollongong Hospital vaccination hub will also provide support to satellite locations at

Shellharbour, Shoalhaven and Milton Ulladulla Hospitals in the coming weeks, as well as a number of sites in southern NSW.

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