Home

COVID WA: Thousands more child vaccination appointments available ahead of school return

Peter LawThe West Australian
CommentsComments
An extra 4700 COVID-19 vaccination appointments are being made available for WA children ahead of the return of school, starting Wednesday.
Camera IconAn extra 4700 COVID-19 vaccination appointments are being made available for WA children ahead of the return of school, starting Wednesday. Credit: Blue Planet Studio - stock.adobe

An extra 4700 COVID-19 vaccination appointments are being made available for WA children ahead of the return of school.

The State Government said the extra appointments would be available for children aged five to 11 at State-run clinics between January 22 and January 30.

The new bookings will be available on the VaccinateWA website from Wednesday morning.

A dedicated paediatric vaccination clinic will open at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre, with more appointments at the Kwinana and Ellenbrook clinics.

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

In a statement, the Government said the total number of available kids’ jab appointments across WA during this time was 11,400.

Premier Mark McGowan Gives Update On WA COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout
Camera IconThe State Government said the extra appointments would be available for children aged five to 11 at State-run clinics between January 22 and January 30. Matt Jelonek/Getty Images Credit: Supplied

However, an online search by The West Australian showed that only a handful of appointments were still available this month at vaccination clinics, GPs or pharmacies in Perth.

Apart from Australia Day, the next available appointment at the Midland, Claremont and Ellenbrook vaccination clinics were not listed until February 1, 2 and 8 respectively, according to the VaccinateWA booking system.

There was similar limited availability at State-run clinics in Joondalup, Carramar and Mandurah, while the Kwinana facility only showed one free appointment in February.

The HotDoc website listed five medical centres in Perth with capacity to administer paediatric vaccines over the next two weeks, while HealthEngine only showed a handful of appointments before school’s back.

More than 27,000 children aged five to 11 have so far received their first dose ahead of the start of term one on January 31. Mark McGowan will throw open WA’s border to vaccinated travellers just five days later.

“Since Monday last week, when children aged five to 11 became eligible, thousands of parents have booked their children in for their first dose and demand for appointments continues to grow,” the Premier said.

“Getting your child vaccinated now is an important step to help keep them safe when schools return for the 2022 year.”

Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson added: “I urge parents with children aged five to 11 to get them vaccinated against COVID-19 to avoid serious illness from the Omicron variant.

“I encourage parents to book these additional spots at our State-run vaccination clinics. The vaccine is the safest and most effective way to protect your child.”

Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.

Sign up for our emails