Former Socceroo Brett Emerton was among the first people to roll up their sleeves and receive a Covid-19 injection when the South Western Sydney vaccination centre at Glenquarie Town Centre opened its doors for the first time this morning.
Emerton, who grew up in Macquarie Fields, joined Mal Fruean, a Pacifica community leader, and Margaret Downey, a teacher at James Meehan High School, who was first in line for a jab.
The new centre, which has the capacity to vaccinate up to 20,000 people a week, will employ more than 150 staff.
Anne Stanley, the federal Member for Werriwa, welcomed the arrival of the clinic and called on residents to take advantage of the facility.
“I have been calling for more vaccines and more vaccination clinics since the rollout was first announced. While the vaccination program has been too slow and ineffective to date, I hope this marks a turning point,” Ms Stanley said.
South Western Sydney Local Health District chief executive Amanda Larkin said the new centre would play a vital role in the national vaccine rollout.
“This new centre will provide another opportunity for many more community members from across South Western Sydney to receive their vaccinations close to home,’’ Ms Larkin said.
“It will initially open six days a week and significantly increase our capacity to offer vaccination to the community.’’
The new centre has been transformed from a former Coles supermarket site into a purpose-built vaccination centre, which will administer the Pfizer vaccine.
A team of nurses, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, health discipline students and IT specialists are being assembled at the centre.
“I thank all of our staff and contractors for their hard work in establishing this new vaccination centre and for their ongoing efforts to vaccinate the community and keep residents and families safe,’’ Ms Larkin said.
The vaccination centre will operate in addition to the Liverpool vaccination centre, which has now administered more than 100,000 injections since it opened in February.
To check your eligibility and book your appointment, visit the Vaccine Eligibility Checker at https://covid-vaccine.healthdirect.gov.au/eligibility
