Auckland’s second drive-through vaccination centre at Trusts Arena in west Auckland has been launched today as the COVID-19 vaccine programme continues to ramp up to help vaccinate more people during Alert level 4.

More than 1 million vaccine doses have now been provided across the Auckland metro region.

Yesterday was the programme’s busiest day on record, with over 21,000 doses provided in one day. More than 3,000 of those doses were delivered through the new drive-through vaccination centre at the Park and Ride at Auckland airport.

The new Trusts Arena drive-through vaccination centre will be able to vaccinate up to 1,500 people per day once it is fully up and running. It will prioritise Māori and Pacific people, essential workers and those who were unable to attend their appointments during Alert level 4.

The centre is run by Waipareira Trust in partnership with the Northern Region Health Coordination Centre, and has been designed with input by the National Hauora Coalition.

Matt Hannant, Programme Director at the NRHCC, said: “We’ve seen that this new drive-through model has been a great way of getting lots of people vaccinated safely along with their bubble under Alert level 4.

“It has been fantastic to see so many households coming along together with their old and young family members.

“We’re continuing to ramp up our vaccination programme to reach more people as quickly as we can, and yesterday was our busiest day ever, with over 21,000 people being vaccinated in one day.”

Waipareira Trust and National Hauora Coalition have worked closely together to design the site.

John Tamihere, Chief Executive of Waipareira Trust, said: “We really want to make this a welcoming space for our Māori and Pacific communities. We’re encouraging them to bring along their whānau so that we can help to protect our old and young people alike.”

Dr Rawiri McKree Jansen, Clinical Director at the National Hauora Coalition, said: “We’ve worked really closely together to design this site in a way that works well for whānau so that can ensure they have a good experience, and can encourage others to come along.”

Key drive-through centre facts

· The Trusts Arena drive-through vaccination centre will run from 8.30am with the last appointment at 3.30pm. It will run until 7 September.

· By 12pm today, the new site had vaccinated almost 400 people.

· The team expect to vaccinate up to 1,500 people per day once it is fully up and running. Existing large community vaccination centres currently vaccinate around 1,000+ people per day.

· People will be asked to come with their whānau/bubble aged 12 and over in car loads of ideally 2 to 4 people. People need to bring at least one other person and won’t be able to attend by themselves. Younger children can also attend but they won’t be able to be vaccinated.

· People will receive their vaccination while seated in the car. Anyone receiving a vaccination will need to sit by the car door and be vaccinated in the arm that is closest to the door. They will then be asked to drive through to the observation area and a staff member will let them know when they can leave.

· If people feel unwell during the observation period, they will be asked to honk their car horn and turn on their hazard lights.

· People will need to attend in a car or similar vehicle. The drive-through is not suitable for motorbikes or trucks or people on foot.

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