Access to the lifesaving COVID-19 vaccine is set to be significantly expanded in the coming weeks, with the Marshall Liberal Government announcing it will open three new mass vaccination clinics in July and will expand capacity at the Wayville COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic.
Clinics will open at Victor Harbor, Mount Barker and Gawler this month, while 2000 more Pfizer vaccination appointments will be made available per week at Wayville.
Premier Steven Marshall said the announcement will eventually provide 6500 additional vaccination appointments per week to help meet increasing demand.
"We are committed to expanding our COVID-19 vaccination rollout to keep South Australians safe and our economy strong," said Premier Marshall.
"The three new clinics at Gawler, Mount Barker and Victor Harbor will eventually add capacity for 4500 more appointments per week, while an additional 2000 appointments at Wayville will increase capacity at the facility to 12,000 vaccinations per week.
"South Australians are stepping forward and rolling up their sleeve to get vaccinated. Last week was a record week with more than 61,000 vaccinations administered across South Australia, and today we are scaling up further to ensure even more people can access the vital vaccine.
"Here at Wayville, this clinic has continuously ramped up and exceeded our expectations. It was the first 'dual clinic' in Australia to offer both Pfizer and AstraZeneca in one facility, and the team here has done a fantastic job vaccinating a huge number of people since it opened at the end of April."
The Victor Harbor vaccination clinic will open on Monday 5th July, while Mount Barker will open a week later on Monday 12 July. Details for Gawler will be announced in the coming weeks.
Minister for Health and Wellbeing Stephen Wade said that demand for the extra appointments at Wayville and the new clinics is expected to be high.
"Appointment availability is extremely dynamic and changes each day as people make bookings, people cancel bookings and capacity is adjusted in line with demand and supply," said Minister Wade.
"If someone tries to go online today and can't access any appointments, we recommend they come back to the website often and refresh the website as availability can change quickly and vacancies can come up at short notice.
"Once the three clinics open it will initially add around 2800 appointments per week across Gawler, Mount Barker and Victor Harbor.
This will increase to 4500 in August once more vaccine supply is secured.
"The vaccination program is the doorway out of the pandemic, and that's why the Marshall Liberal Government committed $86 million in last week's State Budget to ensure SA Health will have the resources they need to be able to pivot where required to get this vital vaccine into the arms of South Australians."
SA Health's Chief Public Health Officer, Professor Nicola Spurrier, said vaccinations are the best form of prevention.
"The vaccines have been designed to help you fight off COVID-19 before it makes you sick, and to reduce the severity of your symptoms if you do get sick," said Professor Spurrier.
"Especially given what's going on in other jurisdictions at the moment, it is now more important than ever for everyone to roll up to get vaccinated to play their part in stopping the spread of COVID-19."
To find out more about COVID-19 vaccinations, visit covidvaccine.sa.gov.au
