AstraZeneca roll out commences at Dubbo Hospital

Western NSW Local Health District frontline health staff rolled up their sleeves to receive the first jabs of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 e vaccine at the Dubbo Hospital
Vaccination Hub this morning.

The Vaccination Hub at Dubbo is operating as a central point of storage and distribution for the vaccinations that will distributed to thousands of staff across the Local Health District.

Member for Dubbo, Dugald Saunders, has also encouraged local residents to take
up vaccination when they’re eligible.

“High rates of vaccination give an additional layer of protection for everyone. It’s
great to see the vaccination program start with our hard working healthcare
professionals who are most at risk, and who we rely on to care for us,” he said.

“It’s exciting to see Dubbo performing such an important role as the vaccination hub
for the District.”

Director of Dubbo Health Service’s Emergency Department, Dr Dan Stewart, said the
vaccination was a safe and effective way of protecting the community.

“Staff here in Dubbo know what it’s like to care for COVID-19 patients, and we all
know that COVID-19 has had an extraordinary impact on our communities,” he said.

“The Dubbo hospital team are excited to be among the first people in the region to
receive the vaccine. I want to encourage my colleagues and everyone in the
community to get vaccinated when they are eligible.”

Dubbo, along with Orange and Bathurst hospitals, will provide fixed-site vaccination
clinics for healthcare workers, with two mobile services rotating through health
facilities at another 35 locations.

Chief Executive of the Western NSW Local Health District, Scott McLachlan, said
that vaccination of frontline health staff was an important milestone for communities
across the region.

“We all want and need our local healthcare workers to be safe and healthy. COVID19 vaccination is key in protecting them, and everyone else in our community,” Mr McLachlan said.

“The role being played here in Dubbo, as a vaccination hub, is very important. To get
both doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to our staff is a huge undertaking and the
Dubbo hub will be the logistics centre for all that activity.

“It’s a massive exercise but one we’ve planned in great detail. The COVID-19
vaccine offers an additional measure of protection and I want to join Dr Stewart in
encouraging all health staff, and in fact everyone in the community, to take
advantage of having the vaccine when it becomes available to them.”

To find out more about eligibility for COVID-19 vaccination, go the Australian
Government’s online eligibility checker at www.health.gov.au .

NSW is working closely with the Australian Government to implement a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccination program.

For more information about COVID-19 vaccination in NSW go to www.health.nsw.gov.au