A SITE for Ballarat's mass coronavirus vaccination hub remains in progress as neighbouring city Geelong looks to start public jabs in a major industrial landmark.
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A Ballarat Health Services spokesperson confirmed the process was still in the works with the state government in determining the best site for the region.
Geelong-based Barwon Health is one of four public health bodies in the state to receive Victoria's first doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and inoculations will start this week. Geelong Advertiser reports the former Ford Factory in the city's north will be transformed into a high-volume vaccination centre for the public.
Ballarat has been identified as one of nine vaccination hubs in the state under the newly formed Grampians Public Health Unit led by BHS chief medical officer Rosemary Aldrich.
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The Courier understands BHS is in the process of stepping up Pfizer vaccinations to high-priority healthcare workers this week. This follows the successful roll-out of the vaccine in a tightly managed cold-chain process to the city's public aged care residents last week.
An initial vaccination base has been set up within BHS Base Hospital for medical staff with specialist-trained mobile teams dispatched to aged care facilities. The potential for a second healthcare vaccination hub has been touted for BHS' Queen Elizabeth Centre.
A mass vaccination site in Ballarat would need to be both large and easily accessible for the public.
Australia is lagging on its coronavirus vaccination targets but authorities insist the country stamping out community transmission has bought time.
More than 100,000 people have received their first dose but the figure is well short of what was promised with the rollout in its third week. At the same time, almost two weeks have passed without a case of COVID-19 community transmission in Australia.
The federal government has pledged to have four million people receiving a jab by the end of March and at least one dose being available to all adults by October.
To reach the March target, phase 1a (1.4 million high-priority healthcare workers, aged care residents and staff and hotel quarantine workers) must be complete and a sizable start on phase 1b, including other healthcare and emergency service workers and adults aged 70-plus.
Health Department boss Brendan Murphy said Australia did not have people dying in hospital from the disease like the United States or the United Kingdom.
"This is not a race," Mr Murphy told reporters on Wednesday.
"We have no burning platform in Australia. We are taking it as quickly and carefully and safely as we can."
Between the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs, there are 1.3 million doses of overseas-produced vaccines now in Australia.
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