Belmont Covid-19 mass vaccination jabs 1500 in first day

The new mass vaccination hub in Belmont could grow it’s capacity beyond 20,000 jabs a week. On its first day the Lake Macquarie hub gave out 1500 jabs.

The mass Covid-19 vaccination hub in Belmont in operation. Supplied.

Local health experts are predicting the mass Covid-19 vaccination centre at Belmont will be able to grow it’s capacity of 20,000 jabs a week.

Hunter New England Health CEO Michael Dirienzo said expansion at the new facility — which offers Pfizer doses only — is on the cards.

“After the successful start, we do have the capacity to expand,” he said.

“As soon as we ramp up to 20,000, and get more people wanting to get vaccinated, we’ll be able to meet that demand and more.

“We’ve deliberately designed it with the ability to expand into space.”

The mass covid-19 vaccination hub in Belmont in operation. Supplied.

CEO Hunter New England Health Michael DiRienzo.

While there may have been a few booking glitches in the week leading up to it’s grand opening on Monday, the Belmont hub did a solid 1500 vaccinations for its opening day on Monday.

The same numbers have been predicted for Tuesday and increasing into the week.

“It went extremely smoothly. We had the opportunity of testing some of the systems a week before and we had a couple of dry runs last week and it’s all gone to plan,” he said.

“Staff have enjoyed the opportunity and very positive feedback from the people being vaccinated.

“We’re working on somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes and people are in and out, working to plan and we can only improve.”

That means more bookings are available this week for people to come in and get vaccinated.

“We’ve had to transfer a number of systems across from the John Hunter clinic and we’ve had a couple of glitches in the system and they’ve been corrected,” Mr Dirienzo said.

Someone gets the jab at the Belmont centre. Supplied.

“We’ve been able to release more booking dates, very hopeful people can get into the system now and book their appointment.”

Of course that’s for those that are eligible. Over 40 or in a vulnerable group.

As for those wanting to use the Hunter vaccination hub from Greater Sydney, they’re being told to stay away, although Central Coast residents are being accommodated.

“If someone comes from the Central Coast, we’ve got a Covid safe zone to be screened and then vaccinated,” he added.

“We’re doing our best to accommodate people from the Central Coast, we’ve actually asked people from Sydney and especially from those stay-at-home LGA’s that we’ll assist them in finding some vaccination centres closer to home and prefer they don’t come to Newcastle.”

Working the system at Belmont. Supplied.

Head of Viral Immunology and Respiratory Group at HMRI and University of Newcastle associate professor Nathan Bartlett said higher the vaccination rates in the Hunter the better to ensure a lower mortality rate.

“The higher vaccination level of the community, the lower the amount of severe illness and death, but there’s talk of herd immunity and what level it is safe,” he said.

University of Newcastle and Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) researcher Associate Professor Nathan Bartlet. Supplied.

“Numbers around 80 per cent are suggested, 60 per cent is a high level but not anywhere near enough.

“If we look to other countries which have high rates of vaccination and the UK has the best insight, their vaccination rates are approaching 60 per cent.”

But fears strains like the Delta variant will forever be a worry and we’ll just have to live with it.

“I don’t think we’ll ever reach a point of immunity within our population that we will be able to stop a virus like Delta circulating,” Mr Bartlett said.

“It will become an established endemic virus along with a number of other respiratory viruses we live with now.

“It’s similar to influenza, people still become severely ill and die despite levels of vaccination.”