Shot in the arm for city’s border workers
A Christchurch health protection officer says she is looking forward to ‘‘getting my geek on’’ at the coming Armageddon expo after getting her Covid-19 jab.
Debbie Smith, who received her first dose of the Pfizer/ BioNTech vaccine at Christchurch International Airport yesterday, is among about 2000 border workers in Canterbury getting the vaccine over the next few weeks.
The Government plans to inoculate New Zealand’s 12,000 -strong border workforce as part of the mass vaccination programme, which hit its fifth day yesterday.
About 40 staff at Christchurch International Airport received their first jabs yesterday morning. The group included aviation security workers, cleaners, police, Customs workers and health protection officers who screen passengers arriving on international flights. Vaccinations for Lyttelton Port workers were to begin tomorrow.
Smith said she had chosen to avoid some events and movies over the past year, and was happy the vaccination would give her an extra layer of protection from getting and spreading the virus.
‘‘I feel like a superhero on the inside now.’’
Immunisation Advisory Centre director Dr Nikki Turner said the vaccine was designed as a two-dose vaccine but people would get some protection 10-14 days after the first dose.
Clinical nurse specialist John Hewitt said he expected all of Canterbury’s border and managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) workers would receive their first dose in the next two weeks but could not give a specific end date.
After the first dose, the group would have a break of 21 days before receiving the second dose.
The exact timing of the programme was dependent on available staff, who had been seconded from roles with community and public health, community Covid19 testing facilities, MIQ facilities and the Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB).
Vaccine clinics for the group would be at six MIQ facilities and at a temporary clinic in Orchard Rd, near the airport. About
30 staff would administer the vaccine at the clinics each day.
Thirty-five members of Canterbury’s vaccination team gave and received the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine on Tuesday to prepare for yesterday’s roll-out.
Hewitt said he was not aware of any workers who did not want the vaccine but staff would work through any concerns with them.
‘‘It would just be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. You would talk to them about why they were hesitant, what their issues were and go from there.’’
Covid-19 Vaccine Immunisation Programme clinical lead Dr Joe Bourne said border and MIQ workers were at most risk of exposure to Covid-19, so it was important their protection was prioritised. ‘‘These people play a critical role at the front line of our continued efforts to keep the virus out of our communities, and we are very grateful for their commitment and hard work.’’
CDHB clinician Dr Alan Pithie, a consultant physician in infectious diseases and general medicine, said rolling out the vaccine in Canterbury was an important milestone in the fight against coronavirus.
‘‘This is just the start of the vaccination roll-out, and we are confident the system we have created is robust and efficient.’’
Special containers were used to transport the vaccines from the ultra-low temperature storage facility in Auckland.
Airport cleaner Cherry Alinsob said she was very keen to get vaccinated to protect herself and her family.
Enough doses to vaccinate 30,000 people arrived in Auckland from Belgium on February 15.