In response to the current COVID-19 situation in Melbourne, in particular in the northern suburbs, Northern Health has extended vaccination clinic hours and increased staffing to meet current demand and help vaccinate as many community members as possible.

“We have seen a significant increase in vaccination bookings over the last week. We are very pleased people are coming in to be vaccinated and we have seen a large increase over the last week. We have gone from 300-400 people vaccinated per day over the last few weeks to 493 vaccinations on Monday, 590 on Tuesday, 691 on Wednesday and over 800 vaccinations yesterday,” Debra Bourne, Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer explained.

“We have now commenced taking bookings for people aged 40-49, so we encourage anyone in this age group to book in for their vaccination as soon as possible,” Debra added.

This morning, Debra spoke to Neil Mitchell on 3AW on our vaccination program and how we are supporting the community during this most recent COVID-19 outbreak.

Earlier in the week, Neil Mitchell said on his program that Northern Hospital was a model for “how to run things well and efficiently for testing and vaccination.”

Associate Professor Craig Aboltins, Director of Infectious Diseases, was pleased to see the increase in people booking in for their vaccinations.

“It is great to see so many people booking in to have their COVID-19 vaccine. The COVID-19 vaccines we have are safe and are the best way for people to protect themselves, their family and their community from the coronavirus infection. The vaccines not only stop us getting sick, but they also stop us spreading the coronavirus infection to others around us,” he explained.

“The recent cases of coronavirus in Melbourne have reminded us all that this pandemic has not gone away – and the best way out of this situation is for us all to be vaccinated as soon as it is available to us,” Craig added.

The health and safety of our community is our highest priority and our staff are working around the clock to scale up our COVID-19 response to meet the demand during this outbreak.

In addition to our vaccination program ramping up, we have also extended operating hours of our testing clinics at both Northern Hospital Epping and Craigieburn Centre. For more information on our testing clinics, head to nh.org.au/coronavirus.

“We are conducting over 1,100 tests each day at our testing clinics, but there are also many other tests being done through other partners in our area including DPV Health,” Debra said.

“We are really proud of our amazing staff for their quick response and wonderful work in keeping our community safe. They have been doing an incredible job.”

“Thank you to all of the people who have booked in for their vaccinations – and to all of the people who have come forward for testing – you are all playing your part in the fight against COVID-19.”

We take this time to remind everyone to get vaccinated if you are eligible, get tested if you have any symptoms (no matter how mild), keep up hand hygiene and physical distancing practices, and follow all the rules for the current lockdown. We are in this together.

Head to nh.org.au/coronavirus to book your vaccination at our clinic located at Northern Hospital Epping. We are also accepting walk-ins.

Featured Image: Luma Gashi, COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic Nurse Unit Manager and Associate Professor Craig Aboltins, Director Infectious Diseases