Mackay residents will have better access to the COVID-19 vaccine from this week with the opening of a new community-based COVID-19 vaccination centre.
The new centre will be located at the 500 Pavilion at Mackay Showgrounds, and will open to a small number of existing bookings this Friday, July 30, before gradually ramping up capacity.
Minister for Health and Ambulance Services, Yvette D’Ath said the new centre was part of the Queensland Government’s strategy to ensure access to vaccinations across regional Queensland.
“As more Queenslanders come forward for vaccination, the Government continues to work on growing its network of COVID-19 vaccination locations across the state,” she said.
“Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been working on opening up new community-based vaccination locations in Mackay, Gympie, Cairns, Ipswich and the Gold Coast.
“We’re excited to be able to enhance access to the free COVID-19 vaccine in our regional communities such as Mackay, Townsville and Cairns. These new centres will greatly increase capacity as the rollout continues.
“Many of our current sites are scalable, meaning they will be able to ramp up daily capacity as more supply becomes available and we’re able to administer more and more vaccines.”
Queensland Health has administered more than 875,000 vaccinations to date, including 73,000 vaccinations in the past week.
Assistant Minister for Health and Member for Mackay, Julieanne Gilbert welcomed the announcement of the new vaccine centre.
”Thank you to all those Queenslanders who have come forward to get vaccinated so far – vaccination is our best chance of beating this pandemic,” said Mrs Gilbert.
“I encourage all eligible residents to register and come forward to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
“Thank you to all of the hardworking health staff who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make this new vaccine centre a reality.”
Mackay HHS Executive Director of Nursing, Julie Rampton said it was important people continued to register to receive a vaccine.
“This new centre will initially cater for existing bookings and will progressively ramp up as vaccine supply increases,” Ms Rampton said.
To have the opportunity to access Queensland’s community vaccination locations, members of the public must register their interest and be invited to make an appointment as appointments are available in their location.
High priority workers (Phase 1a and 1b workers) and anyone due to receive their second dose are currently being prioritised. High priority workers include healthcare workers, aged care and disability care workers, quarantine and border workers and airport workers.
Anyone who is a high priority worker and is unable to make an appointment, can call 134 COVID to make an appointment.
To register your interest, visit www.health.qld.gov.au/vaccinebookings
The centre will open from 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday initially with potential for extended hours and weekend clinics in the future.
