Huge queue for jabs puts more pressure on clinic
Elderly people were among those forced to wait up to 90 minutes for a pre-booked Covid-19 vaccination yesterday, as staff illness and increasing demand put pressure on a Christchurch clinic.
Vaccinators across Canterbury administered about 60,000 jabs in the week ending Tuesday, – nearly double the previous week’s 32,000 doses.
Last week’s push put the region ahead of its plan by nearly 20,000 doses.
However, at Princess Margaret Hospital’s vaccination clinic yesterday, frustration abounded when lengthy queues forced people, including some who were elderly, to wait up to 90 minutes for their pre-booked vaccinations.
Huntsbury resident Anne Chin said while the staff were ‘‘amazing’’ and ‘‘incredibly helpful’’, she found that standing in a queue for such a long time was difficult.
Chin, who was receiving her second vaccination, said people who had booked after her time were ahead of her in the queue and there seemed to be no order to the line.
She suggested there should be separate queues for different time slots and another line for those with disabilities, so people could wait in their cars until they were due to be vaccinated rather than having to wait in the cold.
One woman, who did not want to be named, gave up on her 2.30pm appointment for her second dose after seeing the length of the queue.
She went to another vaccination centre and was jabbed straight away, but was concerned others might have given up at Princess Margaret Hospital and not gone back.
Canterbury District Health Board acting senior responsible officer for Covid-19 Ralph La Salle apologised for the longer than usual wait times.
La Salle said extra staff were called in to help as the clinic was affected by staff illness, which increased wait times, but there was improvement as the day went on.
Ninety clinics were now providing vaccinations throughout Canterbury, and 227,000 Cantabrians had received their first dose, while 113,000 were now fully vaccinated.
‘‘There continues to be incredibly high demand for Covid-19 vaccinations in Canterbury, which is very encouraging,’’ La Salle said.
It was not clear if Canterbury health authorities would be able to maintain the high rates as supplies of the Pfizer vaccine had dropped to 184,000 doses in the week ending August 29.
Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield warned that Auckland, the epicentre of the current outbreak, may be prioritised for vaccines if extra supply could not be delivered.
All regions exceeded their planned vaccine targets last week, with a total of nearly 550,000 doses given out across the country. This was about 240,000 more than the weekly planned target of 306,185.