Where to get your child vaccinated in Tasmania, 570 new cases recorded for the state

Parents are being urged to get their kids vaccinated if they haven’t already, as the rush continues before students return to school next week. LATEST + CLINIC DETAILS >>

Judy Augustine

@JudyAugustine

2 min read

February 4, 2022 - 7:50PM

Coronavirus

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Parents are being urged to take in their kids to get vaccinated if they haven’t already, as the rush continues for children aged 5-11 to get the jab before government schools return next week.

Health minister Jeremy Rockliff said there were plenty of locations available.

“There are many opportunities for parents to tick the vaccination box off their back-to-school checklist this weekend by visiting one of our super clinics being held across the state,” Mr Rockliff said.

Isabella Wills with registered nurse Belinda Coad. Isabella Wills 17 of Hobart who had her covid-19 vaccination booster at the Hobart City Vaccination Centre. Teenagers 16-17 are now eligible to have their covid-19 vaccination booster. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Mr Rockliff noted some parents may be feeling apprehensive.

“Despite the evidence that having your child vaccinated reduces the chance of them catching Covid and passing the virus on to others, I recognise that there would be anxious feelings in the community about having children in this age group vaccinated,” Mr Rockliff said.

“Anyone who is unsure about getting their children vaccinated, I would encourage to discuss their concerns or questions with their GP, or seek more information from a trusted source like the Tasmanian Government’s coronavirus website.

“Importantly, our state clinics are specially organised to accommodate children of this age group with nurses trained in paediatric vaccination and longer appointment times.”

The latest data shows 54.47 per cent of the five to 11 cohort have received their first dose.

“Tasmania is leading every other state with a 5-11 year old vaccination rate of nearly 55% and we want to continue this momentum to give our kids the best possible protection and this weekend is our chance,” Mr Rockliff said.

Mr Rockliff said there were enough doses available for every eligible child to get vaccinated before school returned.

Tasmanian Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff at Ambulance Tasmania, Hobart. Picture: Chris Kidd

“We know it’s a mad-dash at this time of the year as families prepare to head back to school, which is why we have made walk-ins available this weekend at our super clinics to give parents greater flexibility.”

In the 24 hours to 8pm on Thursday, Tasmania’s daily case numbers continued to plateau, with 570 new cases recorded.

13 people are in hospital with nine being treated specifically for Covid symptoms and four Covid positive cases treated for unrelated conditions.

Two people remain in the ICU.