Jabs rolling out despite glitches

RIVERLANDERS under 50 years old have turned out to get their Covid-19 vaccines, despite technical glitches leading to double and triple bookings and long wait times.
The Riverland General Hospital began administering Pfizer vaccines for people aged 16 to 49 late last month, after the State Government opened up the jabs for regional South Australians under 50.
Riverland Mallee Coorong Local Health Network (RMCLHN) CEO Wayne Champion said demand for the vaccines was “quite strong” but “minor issues” with online booking had caused delays during clinics.
Glitches with the booking system caused a two-hour delay at the Berri clinic last Thursday, leading some patients to leave before receiving their jab.
“(The issues have) caused a little bit of trouble in some locations where appointments have been double-booked, more so earlier in the week than later in the week,” he said.
“We’ve also had a little bit of trouble with people coming in who don’t actually have a booking.
“Booking ahead is essential, particularly for those under 50 because the Pfizer vaccine requires ultra-low temperature storage.
“What that means is that we only defrost enough for a couple of days’ worth of clinics because it has such a short shelf life once defrosted.
“(It) means we can run out of defrosted vaccines if we are overwhelmed during a clinic, even if there are some in the freezer.
“So, it’s really important that people book so we can have the right number of vaccines defrosted in advance.”
Mr Champion also said the hospital ran its first weekend clinics on Saturday and Sunday to provide more options for locals looking to get vaccinated.
“We vaccinated 247 people in Berri on the weekend,” he said.
“Across the region, we’re somewhere between 4500 and 5000 vaccines delivered each week at the moment.”
Mr Champion said the Pfizer vaccine was currently only available at the Riverland General Hospital in the region, after the network initially considered also offering the shot in Waikerie.
“The limiting factor is actually our staff because we’ve got all the health services that we normally run, elected surgery and the normal winter ailments like flu going around,” he said.
“Then on top of that we have the Covid testing stations that were never part of business as usual, so we’ve had to find additional staff for them.
“Now we’ve got vaccinations going on, so we are limited to what we can resource staffing-wise and we will look to make the Pfizer vaccine available across the rest of the region as staffing allows.”
To book in to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, visit www.covidvaccine.sa.gov.au.
Over 50s can also book to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine through eligible general practices.