State’s first virus jabs

Northern aged care sites named

AGED care residents in 12 towns in Tasmania’s North will be among the first to be vaccinated against COVID-19 next week.

Burnie will be one of the first locations where aged care residents get the Pfizer jab, along with Legana, Newnham, Newstead, Norwood and Penguin.

Residents in aged care homes in Riverside, Somerset, St Leonards, Ulverstone, West Ulverstone and Wynyard will also get the vaccine next week as part of Phase 1A of the rollout. Nationwide, elderly Australians in 240 facilities in more than 190 locations will be vaccinated next week.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said locations for the first stage of the rollout had been selected in geographic clusters to enable “the most effective distribution” and to “preserve the sanctity” of the Pfizer vaccine, which needs to be stored at minus 70 degrees celsius.

Mr Hunt said authorities were reaching out to facilities, residents and families in the first locations to provide advice and information on the vaccine.

“Consent is being sought in all cases,” he said.

A trained workforce will travel to facilities to deliver the vaccines.

Federal Health Department secretary Brendan Murphy said only residents, and not staff, would be vaccinated in the first week.

Asked about the selection of locations, he said: “We do not have community transmission, so there is no burning platform – it’s perfectly safe to take four or five weeks to vaccinate all of the aged care residents.

“The logistics teams have planned a very detailed logistics plan along with the distribution providers, along with surge workforce providers to get distribution across the country, and a schedule where they can move from one site to another.” Frontline workers, including quarantine, border and health workers, will also be vaccinated in Phase 1A of the rollout from next week.

The first vaccine ‘hub’ for frontline workers will be at the Royal Hobart Hospital.

Frontline workers will then be vaccinated at the state’s other two hubs, the Launceston General Hospital and then the North West Regional Hospital in Burnie.

Tasmania’s frontline workers and aged care residents are expected to be vaccinated by early April.