From this Friday, national vaccine bookings will open up for people in Group 4 aged 50 and over, as the vaccine rollout continues to ramp up across the country.
However, people in group 4 aged 45-plus in Otago and Southland have been invited since last Friday to book in for their vaccination.
By Tuesday, SDHB figures showed 70% of Dunedin people aged 55 to 64 years had either received or booked their vaccinations.
The slick, efficient Meridian Vaccination Centre is vaccinating hundreds of Dunedin people each day, and the Southern DHB reports same-day appointments are available and there is ample capacity for bookings over this week and next week.
Appointments are also available either this week or next at most locations in Dunedin providing the Pfizer vaccine.
Southern DHB Covid-19 vaccine rollout incident controller Hamish Brown said there were 32 sites in the wider Dunedin area currently accepting bookings, including pharmacies, general practices and the Meridian centre.
A further six Dunedin general practices and pharmacies will be offering vaccines in coming weeks.
This was part of a longer-term plan that will have about 120 vaccination providers operating across Otago and Southland at the peak of the rollout, he said.
‘‘From the beginning, the Southern vaccine programme team identified the importance of primary care and pharmacy in reaching our widespread district,’’ Mr Brown said.
"We are now significantly ramping up capacity, including at the Meridian Vaccination Centre, where appointments are now available on Saturdays, and we are excited to have more pharmacies and general practices coming on board."
The Southern Covid-19 vaccination programme was working with disability providers to set up vaccination clinics for their clients — ensuring familiar surroundings for patients, where requests for assistance could be more easily met.
There were some instances where people failed to show up to an appointment, and these people were contacted to rebook.
The confirmation email sent to users included details about how to amend bookings online or over the phone, and Mr Brown encouraged people to do this if they could not make their appointment.
An unopened vial of vaccine could be stored at a facility for 31 days, which reduced the need to use up vaccine.
Clinics had contingency lists they could call on to use any remaining doses from opened vials.
Mr Brown extended his thanks to partners, vaccinators and administrators across the Southern health system helping deliver the programme.
Contingency planning was under way in case the Government announces a change from three weeks to six weeks between doses, although any impact was expected to be negligible, he said.
Bookings for Covid-19 vaccinations can be made online through BookMyVaccine.nz – the new online national booking system — and the Covid Vaccination Healthline 0800282926.
The Vaccination Healthline is open from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week.
