Three new mass COVID-19 vaccination clinics are set to open this month, at Victor Harbor, Mount Barker and Gawler, which by August will add capacity for 4500 more appointments each week.
An extra 2000 Pfizer vaccination appointments will be made available per week at Wayville, increasing the already up-and-running clinic's capacity to 12,000 vaccinations per week.
The Victor Harbor vaccination clinic will open next Monday (July 5), while Mount Barker will open on Monday 12 July. Details on the Gawler clinic will be announced in the coming weeks.
Once all three clinics are open, about 2800 extra appointments per week will be available (in total), which will increase to 4500 in August once more vaccine supply is secured.
Premier Steven Marshall said the announcement would help to meet increasing demand for vaccinations.
"We are committed to expanding our COVID-19 vaccination rollout to keep South Australians safe and our economy strong," he said.
Mr Marshall said more than 61,000 vaccinations were administered across SA last week.
"South Australians are stepping forward and rolling up their sleeve to get vaccinated, and today we are scaling up further to ensure even more people can access the vital vaccine.
"At Wayville, this clinic has continuously ramped up and exceeded our expectations. It was the first 'dual clinic' in Australia to offer both Pfizer and AstraZeneca in one facility, and the team here has done a fantastic job vaccinating a huge number of people since it opened at the end of April."
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Health and Wellbeing Minister Stephen Wade expected to see high demand at the new regional clinics.
"Appointment availability is extremely dynamic and changes each day as people make bookings, people cancel bookings and capacity is adjusted in line with demand and supply," Mr Wade said.
SA chief health officer Nicola Spurrier said vaccinations are the best form of prevention.
"The vaccines have been designed to help you fight off COVID-19 before it makes you sick, and to reduce the severity of your symptoms if you do get sick," Professor Spurrier said
"Especially given what's going on in other jurisdictions at the moment, it is now more important than ever for everyone to roll up to get vaccinated to play their part in stopping the spread of COVID-19."
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