Second Dose Mass Vaccination Event moved to drive-through

Auckland’s second dose Mass Vaccination Event, which will provide a second COVID-19 vaccination dose to people who attended the first event from July 30 to 1 August, will now be a drive-through event.

The second dose event on the weekend of 10-12 September will operate from the Airport Park and Ride location at Verissimo Drive in Mangere, rather than the Vodafone Event Centre.

“The drive-through model has been a great way to vaccinate lots of people safely at Alert level 4, so everyone who attended the first event will now be able to get their second dose at the Airport drive-through centre,” Northern Region Health Coordination Centre (NRHCC) vaccination programme lead Matt Hannant said.

“We have had extremely positive feedback from the community about how easy it is to get vaccinated along with their bubble.”

New first dose bookings at the Airport drive-through

The Airport Park and Ride drive-through site is now opening up booking slots to people who haven’t had their first dose yet. People can book these at bookmyvaccine.nz or by calling 0800 28 29 26.

“We want to ensure people can get their first dose as quickly as possible, as one dose still offers you a high level of protection and can help to prevent you getting very sick if you do get COVID-19.

“We’re encouraging people who haven’t had their first dose yet to book into the Airport Park and Ride, and bring along their bubble with them. The vaccine is free, and everyone in your household aged 12 and over can be vaccinated. You don’t need to be a New Zealand resident to get one.”

The Airport Park and Ride drive-through centre has been vaccinating over 4,000 people per day, and has now delivered over 35,000 doses since it opened on Sunday 22 August.

The NRHCC is working to rapidly ramp up capacity across the Auckland metro region. It had another record day yesterday, with over 29,000 doses delivered.

“We’re adding capacity all the time, so we encourage people to check in regularly to see if new spaces have opened up,” Hannant said.

Mass vaccination event drive-through

Those who had their first dose at the first Mass Vaccination Event will receive an email and text in the next 24 hours confirming the new drive-through location for their second dose and giving an option to rebook if the time or location doesn’t work for them.

Appointment times will remain the same, so people should drive up to the Airport Park and Ride location on the same day and time they are already booked in for, unless their appointment is for after 4pm. In that case, they can drive up any time on the day they are booked in for between 8.30 and 4pm.

“We want to make it as easy and safe as possible for people to get their vaccinations,” said Hannant.

“We’re aware that the drive-through model won’t work for everyone. People who would like another option can call 0800 28 29 26 to talk to someone who can help you find a vaccination location that works best for you.”

Vaccination centres that are close to the Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) – who helped deliver and plan the first Mass Vaccination Event – will also be available to people to those who are unable to attend the drive-through.

“We want to thank MIT who will be sharing the options for rebooking second doses with their staff, students and whānau.”

People can also rebook their second dose at another location through bookmyvaccine.co.nz.

Everyone in Aotearoa aged 12 years and over can book their free COVID-19 vaccination now. The vaccine is free and it doesn’t matter what your visa or citizenship status is.

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