A state government COVID-19 mass vaccination clinic opens today, Monday 5 July, at the Gospel Centre in Victor Harbor.

The clinic is one of three opening this month, the others will be at Mount Barker and Gawler.

The state government will also expand capacity at the existing Wayville COVID-19 vaccination clinic, with 2000 more Pfizer vaccination appointments made available per week.

Premier Steven Marshall says the announcement will eventually provide 6500 additional vaccination appointments per week to help meet increasing demand.

“We are committed to expanding our COVID-19 vaccination rollout to keep South Australians safe and our economy strong,” he says.

“South Australians are stepping forward and rolling up their sleeve to get vaccinated. Last week was a record week with more than 61,000 vaccinations administered across South Australia.

Minister for Health and Wellbeing Stephen Wade says demand for the extra appointments at Wayville and the new clinics is expected to be high.

“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.”

He says if someone tries to go online one day and can’t access any appointments, they should go back to the website often and refresh, as availability can change quickly and vacancies can come up at short notice.

The three new clinics will initially add around 2800 appointments per week across Gawler, Mount Barker and Victor Harbor.

This will increase to 4500 in August once more vaccine supply is secured.

SA Health’s Chief Public Health Officer, Professor Nicola Spurrier, says 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,” she says.

“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.”

To find out more about COVID-19 vaccinations and how to book in, visit the website.