GV HEALTH commenced its COVID-19 vaccination program to the public residential aged care sector last week, as part of the Commonwealth Government’s phase 1a vaccine rollout.
13 Residents at the Parkvilla Aged Care Facility at the Tatura campus of GV Health have now received their vaccinations.
“It’s wonderful to know that the COVID-19 vaccine will help us to keep our doors open for our residents and their families,” GV Health Tatura’s director of nursing, Lisa Waite, said.
This nation’s elderly population face a higher level of threat from the Coronavirus: Of the 909 deaths associated with COVID-19 in Australia, 94 percent have been people aged over 70 years, causing havoc and isolation for those who live in aged care homes.
“Not only is this our first public aged care facility to have received vaccinations, it is also our first outreach location in the GV Health vaccine hub to have begun the vaccine program,” GV Health COVID-Response executive manager, Alicia Cunningham, said last week.
“In coming days, we will vaccinate aged care residents at our other GV Health residential aged care facilities, which includes Grutzner House in Shepparton and Waranga Aged Care Hostel and Nursing Home in Rushworth.
“Now that our mobile outreach team is established, we will continue to provide COVID-19 vaccine services until all of the public aged care residents have been offered and received the vaccine in our catchment area,” Ms Cunningham said.
Public aged care staff have also started receiving the COVID-19 vaccine as part of the priority 1a group at the McIntosh Centre in Shepparton which started operating as a vaccine hub last week.
Approximately 640 aged care residents across 20 public aged care facilities in the GV Health vaccine hub catchment area will be vaccinated under the GV Health COVID-19 vaccine program.
