The mass vaccination clinic at the AIS Arena shuts today, nine months and more than 288,000 COVID-19 vaccinations after it opened – a “bittersweet moment”, Regina Ginich, assistant director of nursing for COVID vaccination and testing, reflects.
“It represents a time when staff from across Canberra Health Services came together and worked really hard on a common goal for Canberra.”
In September, the AIS Arena replaced the Garran surge centre as Canberra’s main vaccination hub, while Garran reverted to a testing facility.
“Suddenly, we had the space and scope of the area so that we could increase our services and do a lot more vaccines than we were able to do at Garran,” Ms Ginich said.
- AIS Arena mass vaccination clinic to open this morning (September 2021)
Set up to administer up to 20,000 vaccinations a week, the AIS clinic surpassed that target, administering nearly 24,000 doses and vaccinating more than 3,000 people a day during its busiest week.
The ACT Government announced earlier this month that the clinic would close, due to high vaccination rates and low demand – its job done.
“Opening the AIS was a significant turning point in Canberra’s fight against COVID-19,” Ms Ginich said.
It was, Chief Minister Andrew Barr said, “a really significant program that helped Canberra become the most vaccinated city in the world”.
To date, 80.6 per cent of children aged five to 11 have had their first vaccination; 97.2 per cent of people over five have had two doses; and 76.4 per cent have had their third ‘booster’ shot, according to the ACT Government’s latest figures.
“The vaccine is proving to be incredibly effective at keeping people out of intensive care and keeping people out of hospital, given the number of cases,” Mr Barr said. (4,509 active cases as of today, of whom 93 are in hospital, and four of those in intensive care.)
Ms Ginich remembered that when the clinic could vaccinate children aged 12 to 15, they made “a slight technical glitch”: they prepared more vaccine doses than there were appointments. Staff went looking for people to vaccinate so they wouldn’t waste doses.
“At 10pm, I looked around at the recovery room floor to a room full of teenagers in their pyjamas,” she recalled. “Their parents had dragged them out of bed to come and get their vaccine. If there was ever a moment where I knew Canberrans were keen to be vaccinated, it was in that room full of bed hair and Ugg boots.”
Five- to 11-year-old children could be vaccinated from December. “Suddenly, we could have fun!” Ms Ginich said. Staff dressed in ‘fun scrubs’, and redecorated the clinic.
“When they first came in for their very first day, it was like watching your kids go to school for the first time. They were so small and yet so determined that they were doing the right thing. I will admit a tear came to my eye when they first came in.”
There were special events, too: the Canberra Hospital Foundation’s disco-themed Can Give Day; Superhero Saturday in February; and visits by emergency services and their fire trucks.
Mr Barr thanked the nurses and administrative and support staff who worked “very long hours, day in, day out, week in, week out, month in, month out” to vaccinate Canberrans. During peak times, 110 nurses were on site each day.
“Nurses were so efficient at talking with patients, health screening, and giving vaccinations, they could complete the entire process in five minutes,” Mr Barr said.
Many will now be redeployed, easing the pressure on the ACT’s health system. For many nurses and admin staff, Ms Ginich said, the AIS clinic was “a stepping-stone … to start their career”.
Although the clinic closes today, staff will run the Access and Sensory Vaccination Clinic at Weston Creek; outreach services to Canberra hospitals and detention facilities; a specialist vaccination clinic for people with allergies; and a needle phobia clinic in partnership with Calvary Public Hospital, Ms Ginich said.
Mr Barr also thanked the Canberra community for their “willingness to listen to health advice, to do the right thing by each other”.
“This has been an incredible team effort in our fight against COVID-19. Our Territory’s high vaccination rate has helped to slow the spread of the coronavirus – saving many lives – and meant that many of us have been able to return to the day-to-day activities we enjoy.”
Mr Barr encouraged vulnerable Canberrans who had not yet had their fourth or booster dose, and children who had not had their booster dose, to get vaccinated.
Free doses are available from GPs and pharmacies, said Rachel Stephen-Smith, ACT Minister for Health.
Canberrans should also get their ’flu vaccination, she said.
“The pandemic isn’t over,” Ms Stephen-Smith said. “We must remain vigilant, and practise COVID smart behaviours.”
The Commonwealth will refurbish the AIS Arena, restoring Canberra’s premier indoor sporting and concert venue, Mr Barr said – a $15 million Labor federal election commitment.
