Geelong’s mass coronavirus vaccination hub site revealed
Barwon Health has revealed when it expects to start delivering COVID-19 vaccinations for Geelong residents at the former Ford factory site.
Geelong
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Barwon Health expects to open a high-volume COVID-19 vaccination centre at Geelong’s former Ford factory in early April.
The Geelong Advertiser this week revealed the health service is set to deliver coronavirus jabs at the Norlane site.
Barwon Health chief executive Frances Diver said dependent on supply, the health service anticipates it may take around six months to vaccinate our community.
“We will work with our partners in the region to establish other community vaccination hubs and pop-up sites,” Ms Diver said.
“We are working with the site developers (Pelligra) and other contractors to ready the Ford site as a Community Vaccination hub.
“This Community Hub will provide vaccinations for the broad community in line with the Commonwealth prioritisation.
“The planning is well advanced and we will release details related to prioritisation of various groups in the community and the process for bookings closer to the opening.
Ms Diver said the community vaccination hub at the former Ford site would be managed and staffed by Barwon Health.
“General Practice and Pharmacies across the region will play an important role in providing vaccinations,” she said.
“We plan to promote ‘how to get vaccinated’ to the community via our website, social media channels, the print media and community groups.”
Ms Diver said Barwon Health anticipated opening the site at the former Ford factory in early April.
Meanwhile, Western Victoria Primary Health Network chief executive Rowena Clift said GP clinics have been informed if they had been approved through the federal rollout expression of interest process.
Ms Clift said more than 50 general practices in the Geelong-Bellarine Peninsula-Surf Coast area were participating in Phase 1b of the vaccine roll out.
She said Phase 1b will start in the week commencing March 22.
Ms Clift said people who are eligible for the 1b vaccination include elderly adults aged 70 years and over; health care workers who were not vaccinated in phase 1a; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people over 55 years; younger adults with an underlying medical condition, including those with a disability; and critical and high risk workers including defence, police, fire, emergency services and meat processing.
OLD FORD FACTORY TO BECOME VACCINATION HUB
Geelong residents could be getting jabbed at one of the city’s industrial landmarks within weeks, with the Addy able to reveal plans are underway for a high-volume COVID-19 vaccination centre located within the former Ford factory.
A Victorian Department of Health spokesman on Tuesday night confirmed the Norlane site would be managed by Barwon Health.
“Victoria is continuing to support the Commonwealth with their vaccination program and is expanding the rollout to include more locations for Victorians in the Commonwealth’s priority groups to receive the vaccine,” the spokesman said.
“The commencement of this site and others will depend on vaccine supply and priority groups assigned by the Commonwealth.”
Barwon Health will start delivering the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine this week with thousands of people across the region set to be jabbed within days.
The health service said almost 1500 people were vaccinated across the Barwon South West region last week, bringing the total so far to almost 2500 people.
“We will commence the AstraZeneca program this week and expect to vaccinate
approximately 3000 more people this week,” Barwon Health spokeswoman Kate Bibby said.
“We have been providing the vaccination to high priority groups such as maritime workers,
aged care residents and staff and key healthcare workers.
“We will expand the program further throughout March and April.”
The AstraZeneca vaccine was trialled on ferrets at CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness in Geelong last year.
Health Minister Martin Foley said with Victoria receiving 50,800 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine last Friday, hospital vaccination hubs at Barwon Health, Austin Health, Monash Health and Western Health will now begin administering the newly delivered vaccine.
Mr Foley said in rolling out the AstraZeneca vaccine and as we move to the Commonwealth’s 1b phase, there will be more local vaccination centres linked to the state’s community health organisations and hospitals, which are co-ordinated by the nine local public health units currently delivering services through hospital vaccination hubs.
The expansion will allow Victoria to commence vaccinations for other Commonwealth priority groups, including police, fire and other emergency services, and other healthcare workers.
There will also be more locations for Victorians in the Commonwealth’s priority cohorts to get vaccinated including fixed-site services at hospitals and community health centres, mobile outreach services, and high-volume centres located at large community sites.
The arrival of the AstraZeneca comes after high-priority groups started receiving the Pfizer vaccine.
Since February 22, hospital vaccination hubs have served Victorians in phase 1a of the Commonwealth-led program, including hotel quarantine workers, airport and port workers, and at-risk frontline health staff such as those in COVID-19 screening clinics, specialist COVID-19 wards, intensive care units and emergency departments.
As at March 8, more than 15,494 doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been administered at Victoria’s hospital vaccination hubs.
Mr Foley said with the additional AstraZeneca vaccine now available, we’re ready to scale up in a big way with more supplies, more priority populations and more sites right across the state.
Originally published as Geelong’s mass coronavirus vaccination hub site revealed
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