Priority COVID-19 vaccinations will be made available for education staff and year 12 students in the ACT to enable students to get back into the classrooms as soon as possible.
ACT year 12 students and staff required to assist with the ACT Scaling Test (and HSC and IB if occurring at an ACT school) can now book one of 5,500 priority Pfizer vaccination appointments reserved at the AIS during the fortnight from Monday 6 September.
Other teachers, educators and staff who have direct contact with children in their daily work at ACT schools, early childhood education and care centres and out of school hour care services can also now make a booking for priority Pfizer appointments in the following weeks.
"Getting a vaccination within the next two weeks will provide a level of protection for year 12 students and exam staff ahead of the AST Scaling Test," Chief Minister Andrew Barr said.
"This will at least provide effective first-dose vaccination coverage ahead of their exams."
"Providing priority access to vaccines for teachers and educators across the education system is an important step to returning to face to face learning when it is safe to do so."
Priority bookings need to be made by phone and cannot be booked online using the MyDHR system.
Staff eligible for a priority booking will be contacted directly by their school, early childhood centre or out of school hours care service with booking information.
Bookings for year 12 students can be made by calling the COVID-19 vaccination booking line on (02) 5124 7700 daily between 7am and 7pm and notifying the booking operator of your priority category (i.e. being a year 12 student).
ACT Minister for Education and Youth Affairs, and Minister for Early Childhood Development Yvette Berry welcomed the opening of priority Pfizer vaccination appointments for year 12 students, educators and frontline staff, who work largely with young people who mostly haven't had access to vaccinations, or, in the case of children aged under 12 years, do not have an approved vaccine.
"We have seen that the delta strain of COVID-19 is reaching our schools and early childhood centres, which is a scary reality for our community. We know that educators and staff want to protect their students and colleagues, their families and themselves," Minister Berry said.
"The ACT Government knows that vaccinating our educators, teachers and front-line staff in schools, early childhood centres and out of school hours care services is an essential step towards ensuring the safe return to normality for Canberrans.
"Providing vaccine protection and a level of certainty around assessments will support our young people who are planning their future in unsettling and uncertain times. I know how stressful year 12 can be for our college students at the best of times, let alone during a global pandemic."
ACT Minister for Health Rachel Stephen-Smith said the priority vaccines had been made possible by the opening of the AIS Arena Mass Vaccination Clinic and a small boost in Pfizer vaccine supply.
"The AIS Arena Mass Vaccination Clinic allows us to ramp up our vaccination activity to match increases in supply," Minister Stephen-Smith said.
"With a small boost from the Commonwealth's Singapore deal and a forecast small increase in weekly supply we have been able to create 5,500 extra priority appointments across the next two weeks.
"With further forecast increases in supply we hope to be able to open up even more appointments in the coming weeks and months to allow more Canberrans to get vaccinated even faster.
"Even with priority appointments it might still take some educators a number of weeks to get their first dose. I recommend that educators, and workers in other industries, who might want to be vaccinated even sooner, talk to a trusted health professional about the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is readily available today."
We will continue to work with the Commonwealth Government and healthcare providers to ensure we deliver a safe, effective and accessible COVID-19 vaccine program in the ACT.
