Health Leaders Roll Up for AstraZeneca Vaccine

Media release – Dale Webster, Tasmanian Vaccination Operations Centre Commander, 9 March 2021

Health leaders roll up for AstraZeneca vaccine

Tasmanian health sector representatives today became the first Tasmanians to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine, after the state received its first delivery on Sunday.

Representatives of professional organisations joined with leaders from the public health, ambulance, and hospital sectors to be vaccinated at the Roy Fagan Centre in Lenah Valley.

The first of the AstraZeneca’s clinics coincided with the third week of the Pfizer vaccination hub kicking off at the Royal Hobart Hospital where another group of more than 1100 frontline health workers, including nurses and paramedics, along with quarantine and border staff, will be vaccinated this week.

The AstraZeneca vaccine will be rolled out this week at health facilities managed by the Tasmanian Government, starting with staff and patients at the Roy Fagan Centre, with around 400 Tasmanians expected to receive the vaccine this week.

Tasmania’s Director of Public Health Dr Mark Veitch was the first person in the state to be vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine and was joined by a united group of health professionals ready and willing to roll up their sleeves to protect themselves, their loved ones and the community.

They were:

• Dr Helen McArdle, the president of the Tasmanian Branch of the AMA
• Dr Gillian Mee, the Medical Director at the Roy Fagan Centre
• Monica Werner, vice-president of the Tasmanian branch of the ANMF
• Tom Simpson, Statewide Hospital Pharmacy Director
• Barbara Moerd, the Director of Allied Health at the RHH
• Joe Acker, Interim Chief Executive of Ambulance Tasmania

The Commander of the Tasmanian Vaccination Operations Centre and Health Deputy Secretary, Dale Webster, said being vaccinated was a crucial tool in the fight against COVID-19.

Mr Webster thanked the health leadership group for receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine, demonstrating support for the vaccination program in Tasmania.

“Being vaccinated will save lives,” Mr Webster said.

“There are now two vaccines, Pfizer and AstraZeneca, which have been through the rigorous approvals process in Australia. They are both safe and equally effective.”

Director of Public Health Dr Mark Veitch said he was grateful to be the first person in Tasmania to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine.

“I understand that some Tasmanians may have some hesitation about being vaccinated,” Dr Veitch said.

“If you do have any concerns, please get your facts from reliable sources, such as the Tasmanian and Australian Government health websites, or from your GP.

“My message to all Tasmanians is that these vaccines have been rigorously tested for safety, are effective tools in our response to the pandemic, and will assist Tasmania and Australia in our path back towards normality.”

Tasmania has received 6720 doses of the vaccine earlier than planned. That’s 840 vials, each of which will provide up to eight doses.

The early rollout of AstraZeneca vaccine will be slow and steady with the start of phase 1b of the vaccination program brought forward by two weeks to March 19 and the first of our GPs receiving vaccine stocks to use from 22 March.

Tasmanians in this 1b cohort include people aged 70 and over, remaining health care workers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults, adults with underlying medical conditions and critical and high-risk workers, including defence, police, fire, emergency services (including volunteers), and meat processing workers.

If you fall into Phase 1b, you do not need to do anything now.  Later this week we will start providing Tasmanians with more details on how people in Phase 1b can book their appointments to have their vaccinations at state-run clinics and a number of GP clinics around the state – starting later this month.

An AstraZeneca vaccination clinic will be opened at the Mersey Community Hospital on March 19 for north-west health staff.

As of this week, globally more than 300 million people have received COVID-19 vaccinations.

Media release – Sarah Courtney, Minister for Health, 9 March 2021

AstraZeneca vaccine rollout begins in Tasmania

Tasmania’s vaccination program is continuing to progress with 6,720 AstraZeneca doses arriving in the state on Sunday, with vaccination clinics to begin in Southern Tasmania this week.

This is fantastic news for our State and means we’ll be able to vaccinate more Tasmanians sooner, with 400 Tasmanians expected to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine this week as part of clinics at a number of state government run facilities, including the Roy Fagan Centre in Lenah Valley.

They will join the 2,327 Tasmanians already vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine over the first two weeks of the State Government’s program, which has included frontline health workers, paramedics, quarantine and border staff, including police officers. The Pfizer roll-out continues at the Royal Hobart Hospital from today focussing on our frontline workers.

Our health staff continue to do a fantastic job during the ongoing roll out which is one of the largest health logistical exercises in our country’s history, and I thank them for their outstanding efforts to keep Tasmanians safe and bring us closer to a more normal way of living.

As announced last week, we will bring forward the start of our 1B phase of the roll-out to 19 March.

Tasmanians in the 1B cohort include people aged 70 and over, our remaining health care workers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults, adults with underlying medical conditions and critical and high-risk workers, including defence, police, fire, emergency services (including volunteers), meat processing and fish factory workers.

Further details will be provided later this week on how people in Phase 1b can book their appointments to have their vaccinations at state-run clinics and a number of GP clinics around the State.