School students and staff are to have easier access to COVID-19 vaccines with SA Health teaming up with the Department for Education to roll out new school vaccination hubs.
Announced by Premier Steven Marshall, the 54 new school vaccination hubs add to 24 already-established in schools and have the potential to reach 34,000 students by the end of this term.
Mr Marshall said that in selecting the hub locations, priority had been given to more vulnerable communities as well as communities with lower vaccination rates.
“The rapid expansion of the school-based hubs means that students and their families have a more convenient way to get vaccinated during this school term and ensure our school communities remain as safe as possible,” Mr Marshall said.
“With the festive season fast approaching, South Australians have Christmas in their hands,” he said.
“If we all get behind the rollout and push up past the 90 per cent double vaccination milestone, we can have a more normal Christmas.”
Minister for Health and Wellbeing, Stephen Wade said the vaccine would be available in schools to students aged 12 to 18 with parental consent, as well as to parents, siblings and school staff.
Mr Wade said the schools clinic expansion was a partnership between SA Health, the Department for Education and the Catholic and independent school systems.
The Minister said schools would communicate directly with families to let them know when the clinics would run.
“We have continued to scale up vaccination clinics and open new ones,” he said.
“We recently launched a new fleet of mobile vaccination vans; we’re working with a growing list of businesses and we just held our first super walk-in weekend which saw thousands of South Australians get vaccinated,” Mr Wade said.
The 54 schools where the vaccination hubs will be set up can be accessed at this PS News link.
