
COVID-19 vaccinations will begin rolling out in Canberra next Monday. Photo: Supplied.
Some Canberrans will have access to a COVID-19 vaccine from next Monday (22 February) after the first doses of the Pfizer vaccine landed in Australia today (15 February).
The vaccine will be rolled out in five phases, the first of which will cover around 4,000 frontline workers in Canberra, including quarantine and border workers.
Canberra Health Services (CHS) will be leading the vaccination effort in the ACT and expects to initially vaccinate around 1,000 workers a week. Eligible workers will receive an email this week prompting them to make a booking.
The vaccination is not mandatory for any frontline worker or health staff at this stage.
The Garran surge centre at the Canberra Hospital will be used as the initial vaccine hub due to the vaccine’s storage requirements.
The Canberra hub at Garran will also be used to vaccinate healthcare workers from Queanbeyan and Yass under an agreement with NSW due to the limited availability of Pfizer storage facilities across the country. All associated costs will be dealt with under existing agreements with NSW in regards to health care in the region.
GPs, pharmacies and ACT Government-run clinics will all become part of the rollout strategy in the future as more vaccines – primarily the AstraZeneca jab – become available and approved for use in Australia.
Around 62 staff are on hand to assist with the vaccine’s rollout but this can be expanded at short notice, CHS CEO Bernadette McDonald said.
“We have increased our recruitment in the past few weeks,” she said.
“We do already have some staff that do immunisation and vaccinations as their core interests, so they are really well trained, however, we are putting all staff through the same training program to ensure consistency in the approach and process across the vaccination hubs.
“We will create a pool of flexible staff who are all trained so if we need to flex up capacity we can.”

Bernadette McDonald said the ACT will be able to surge its vaccine rollout program if needed. Photo: George Tsotsos.
The Commonwealth Government will be coordinating the vaccination of aged and disability residential care facilities.
The second phase, Phase 1B, will then begin in March and will include adults over the age of 70, Indigenous people over the age of 55, adults with an underlying health condition, and critical and high-risk workers.
Adults under the age of 50 will be the last people to receive the vaccine and will be eligible to receive the jab from July 2021.
Chief Health Officer Dr Kerryn Coleman said Canberrans should expect COVID-safe practices to continue for the foreseeable future due to limited evidence as to how the vaccine affects the transmission of the virus.
Two doses of the Pfizer vaccine must be taken at least 21 days apart and an individual will not be fully immunised until seven days after the second jab.
Guinea pigs first.
The vaccine is for humans, not animals.
I might watch The Day of The Triffids
If you actually click through the link, healthcare workers are first in line.
Kytie Mclign hoping your parents can get vaccinated soon. Celeste and I got our second doses Saturday.
Sally Hicks Wow! That is great! Australia starts soon, the vaccines arrived today - we saw pics on the tarmac! I think one of the parents qualifies right after the health care workers, but the other one probably doesn't? I am pretty sure Gran will qualify soon, too, along with the aunts.
Kytie Mclign hopefully your Gran will get it very soon. I feel really blessed to get mine. Vern and Ann were scheduled to get 1st doses today but weather caused them to reschedule on 27th. They supposed to have up to a foot of snow by tomorrow.
Sally Hicks That is a lot of snow - hard to imagine from here.
Kytie Mclign yep. Too much at one time
There was talk today that Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese would be among the first to have the Pfizer vaccine – that’s really not queue-jumping, it’s about confidence, just as it was when Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Anthony Fauci were near the front of the queue in the U.S.
There was also talk that Brendan Murphy and Paul Kelly (the CMO, not the muso) would be getting the AstraZeneca vaccine – again about confidence, and also presumably to make the point that it won’t be a case of early Pfizer vaccinations for the elites, and AZ for the rest.
Concerns about side-effects are understandable, but that may be alleviated by the plans of the TGA to provide regularly updated details on their website (fairly sure I heard John Skerritt say that a week, or so, ago).
You gotta have a laugh when the same people trying to essentially ban e-cigarettes “Because we don’t know the long term effects” are encouraging you to take a vaccine developed in well under a year when normally it takes 10+ years worth of trials. They are then calling anybody concerned about the complete lack of knowledge of possible long term effects a paranoid conspiracy theorist and anti-vaxxer.
You can’t make this level of comedy and blatant hypocrisy up.
Instead of laughing, it would be better to get educated.
The long-term effects of the polio vaccine weren’t known when it was rolled out. The long term effects of anything aren’t known until the long term. Simple, primary-school level logical thinking.
It appears that very simple thinking is what you do. Or just think whatever you are told to.
Amazingly, we have come a long way in the field of ethics since the polio vaccine was distributed, and there are very good reasons why long term clinical trials happen now. You ever heard of thalidomide? That is one of the many reasons that drugs don’t just go straight from discovery to general use without long term clinical trials.
Are we depriving third world countries with large numbers of COVID-19 cases the vaccine?
Claudia your questions are answered 🙂
Larissa Fischer interesting
I will be getting the jab.
The elderly in care should have a choice whether they have the jab or not some will not want to risk what happened overseas
What happened overseas?
Josette Noble No, No they shouldn’t, Jab them all👌
Hafiz Khusyairi 35 old people died when they gave them the jab
Josette Noble that is not why they died, they had previous life threatening issues
Stuart Kyle no they did not they were just elderly
Did you mean died after given the jab? Because nowhere I read that anyone died 'when' given the jab.
Excellent I hope all politicians will be rolling their sleeves up first to be good example for nation
Dragan Gluhović When their age group comes up. Not before. They shouldn't get preferential treatment.
I look forward to a televised report on the entire legislative assembly having their jabs first, followed by weekly updates for side-effects for at least the next twelve months.
Michael Blythe Why should they get preference over others?
Michael Blythe millions of people have had it in the US already. 66 allergic reactions in total, all treated immediately as they happen within 11 minutes and all people were fine. Now millions of Americans have antibodies and that is continuing to increase.
Good. Now let's see the conspiracy theory come out lol. And everyone complain and say how about the political party go first. I do remember the priminster and others are
Kristy Morton LOL, and that has already happened here. Some people suggesting that politicians should get preferential treatment and be allowed to go first.
Julie Macklin they are in Australia and they said they will do it in front of media
Kristy Morton That's just a way of pushing in first, while the rest of us have to wait. Many people are willing to have it, but as not everyone can have it at once, let those who are willing to have the injection get it first, after critical workers, aged, etc. Then worry about the conspiracy theorists later.
We should be giving it to teachers and assistants in specialist schools who do care roles as well as education for vulnerable young adults.
I assume all the valuable people identified (“essential workers “)when the lockdowns began will get it first; our supermarket workers, cleaners, teachers etc?
Gerry Satrapa I would have thought the elderly, those with pre-existing conditions for whom there is a high mortality rate due to COVID and health care workers would get it first. After that I hope it’s the essential workers.
Gerry first group is those closest to where a positive case is likley to be - so quarantine, health professionals, covid treatment and testing etc. I'm sure that direct service professinoals like teachers/shops will be well ahead of office workers unlikely to see multiple infected folks. but check the ACT Gov info as it might just be age and health risk based like has been said.
Tania Shaw not at this stage. We are general population. Based on age not on the fact that we deal with up to 180 individual kids a day.
Raina might be something the union can lobby for. def increases the risk
They are fighting hard. Easy to say kids are not spreaders....but what if a teacher exposed 180 kids and all in the staff rooms on just one day.
Gerry Satrapa yup, people like me, essential health workers and quarantine workers first up. Fantastic news.
Marissa Booth no, but im very high up the list given my role and whom I'm responsible for.
Tania Shaw yeah; my comment was firmly tongue in cheek, but the ACT Government has handled COVID extremely well - and it looks like appropriate decisions are being made.
What’s that movie with brad pit?
World zeeka??
Interview with the Vampire?
Callum Bowen Seven? Mr and Mrs Jones? Deadpool 2?
Christopher Marlowe you mean MR and mrs smith?
Excellent all the politicians will be rolling their sleeves up then?
Mags, and so they should. If there's a problem, we can always get more politicians. Front line workers are too valuable to use first.
Mags Bolo not till vulnerable, valuable people do.
Mags Bolo well atleast they can be the guinea pigs to see if theres side effects
Mags Bolo please, they are not essential.
Mags Bolo In their turn yes; they shouldn't be able to get preference.
Mags Bolo they probably will, but then people like you will call out fake injections.
Mags Bolo won't be opening their pockets though
Mags Bolo Most politicians are not residents of ACT, so no.
I am looking forward to having the vaccine
Jo Holburn great! We need people like you
Snez Vujic I heard on the radio that there's a small percentage of people that get an allergic reaction ,tbh I wouldn't want to be that percentage or any of my kids 🤷🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️
Sara Salazar Hidalgo 66 adverse reactions in the millions of of people who have had it in the US, reactions happened within 11 minutes of taking it and all were treated onsite, people were all fine.
Sara Salazar Hidalgo Join the "Covid-19 Vaccination Reactions and Feedback" page. This will give you Honest feedback, about vaccination reactions etc...
Priscilla Düll honest feedback according to whom?
Snez Vujic the people who actually had the jab
Priscilla Düll this Covid-19 vaccination page doesn't seem to come up when I searched it on Facebook, can you direct me exactly what I have to put in the search bar for it to come up?
Check your messages Sherrilyn Singer
Priscilla Düll yeah thanks darl I have actually read quite a bit of feedbacks and they ain't good 😬.Not sure if it was this same page but yeah I am not a willing participant for this jab 🤦🏽♀️
Cappy June Sorry but anything coming from USA I don't tend to eagerly take it as gospel 🤷🏽♀️
Sara Salazar Hidalgo So the people whose feedback you read, where were they from?
Sara Salazar Hidalgo dont even try to go there...the google experts will tell you they know better than the experts and the actual allergy sufferers and bombard you with what they want you to believe... but yes take it from someone who is allergic to many meds, this vaccine scares the hell out of me because I know it can kill me, as we have already been warned... dying from a drug related allergy after being told by dr's that it is fine, you wont react isnt the problem. Its the sheer agony and pain you suffer after being bought back from the dead... so yes I am scared of this vaccine with my allergies... ignore the google experts. If you have anyone in the family with allergies make sure you talk to a REAL Dr before using it...
Following for future conspiracy comments
Mark Storey sign me up
Cappy June it's the only reason to read the comments these days 🤣
Mark Storey i don't see no dreads