The Southern DHB’s vaccine rollout has vastly scaled up in lockdown and more than 50,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine were administered last week.
Southern Covid-19 vaccine programme lead Hamish Brown said new models of delivery, such as drive-in clinics, and increased capacity at many locations had boosted numbers.
By the end of Tuesday this week, 267,721 doses of the vaccine had been delivered in the Southern district. Of these, 87,268 were second doses.
Across the Southern district, 60% of the population had received at least one dose and 29.6% were fully vaccinated, Mr Brown said.
‘‘This is thanks to the hard work of our more than 100 providers across the district, including pharmacies, general practices, Maori and Pasifika health providers, the staff at the DHB’s vaccination clinics in Invercargill and Dunedin.
‘‘And of course a tremendous response from the public.’’
A successful two-day mass vaccination event at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Monday and Tuesday had delivered thousands of jabs, mostly to students.
The Southern DHB had continued to deliver large volumes of vaccinations across the region and had not experienced issues with supply, he said.
Mr Brown said the Southern DHB frequently reviewed all of its Covid-19 documentation and procedures, including those around infection prevention and control, and processes around PPE, to reflect both changes to the virus and growing knowledge of how to manage it.
