First of two booths being set up by Berrys Pharmacy as part of their dedicated Covid-19 vaccination site at the Horowhenua Health Centre.
First of two booths being set up by Berrys Pharmacy as part of their dedicated Covid-19 vaccination site at the Horowhenua Health Centre.
Staff at Berrys Health Centre Pharmacy have administered more than 7500 Pfizer vaccinations since they became partners in the Covid-19 vaccine rollout in May 2021.
They are also excited about setting up a dedicated vaccination site at the Horowhenua Health Centre.
Berrys Pharmacy is one of a number of Horowhenua based partners with MidCentral DHB, providing the Pfizer vaccine service in Levin, Foxton and Otaki.
Debbie Davies, MDHB Covid-19 senior response officer said, "[we are] appreciative of the efforts of all of our partners and providers who are supporting the Covid-19 vaccination roll out.
"Berrys Health Centre Pharmacy is playing a crucial role in helping us to deliver the vaccine in an effective and equitable manner to the people and whanau living in Horowhenua communities."
Back in May, Berrys Pharmacy Community and Special Projects pharmacist Lynette Wolfenden told the Horowhenua Chronicle they needed more staff to help with the expected ramp up of the rollout.
At the time they had just two accredited vaccinators on staff who were giving 35 doses each day.
Since then, Berrys have employed 12 more staff to assist with the vaccination rollout, in both vaccinator and administrator roles, and are now offering the Covid-19 vaccine six days a week.
"We just want to say a big thank you to the Levin community for coming onboard with this initiative," said Wolfenden.
MOH spokeswoman Astrid Koornneef said there's been a significant increase in the number of trained and active vaccinators across the country in the last few months.
"Current projections are that we will need at least 1600 fulltime equivalent vaccinators, which means we will likely need more than 6500 people vaccinating in part or fulltime roles at the peak of the vaccination rollout..."
Berrys Health Centre Pharmacy vaccine administrator Faye Cleland booking in Michael Pothoven, of Supreme Antennas Ltd, to receive his first Pfizer dose.
Two of the recently employed vaccinators at Berrys were retired nurses who have re-qualified and a number of the other local recruits were not working at the time of applying for the available roles.
Providing this service and employing new staff is all part of Berrys' commitment to the local community, as is moving to the new dedicated vaccination site at the hospital.
Pharmacy owner Phil Berry said, "we want to move our [Covid-19] vaccination operation from the pharmacy as our day-to-day running...has been impacted, with consistently over 700 vaccinations being provided per week."
Berrys are listed on the MidCentral DHB website as one of four vaccination sites in Levin, along with one in Foxton and one in Otaki, as well as a general practice in Foxton and another in Otaki:
Horowhenua Events Centre, Levin
Masonic Village Community Hall, Foxton
Raukawa Whānau Ora, Levin
Muaūpoko Tribal Authority, Levin
Berrys Health Centre Pharmacy, Levin
Ngā Purapura pop-up clinic, Otaki
Ōtaki Medical Centre
Te Waiora Community Health Service, Foxton
Koornneef said pharmacies were playing a key role in the vaccination rollout and expected more to come on board as the programme continues to ramp up.
"We know many people feel more comfortable getting their vaccination from their local primary care provider."
Sue Black, Berrys Health Centre Pharmacy accredited vaccinator, leading Brendan Duffy, Chair of MidCentral DHB, into the Covid-19 vaccination booth for his first dose of Pfizer.
As at midnight Saturday, July 31, the number of people in New Zealand who had received their first dose of the vaccine was just under 1.2 million, according to the Ministry of Health.
Nearly 75% of those people were now fully vaccinated, which meant a total of nearly two million doses of the Pfizer vaccine had been administered by the end of July.
MidCentral DHB advised that as at Monday August 2, a total of nearly 15,000 vaccinations had been delivered by their partners and providers in the Horowhenua rohe.
Wolfenden wanted locals to know the pharmacy still has vaccination spots available for booking and they now have the capacity to vaccinate even more people than they previously had.
"At the start of each day we know how many vaccines we need to make up based on appointments booked", said Wolfenden, "and all the vaccines need to be used within six hours...we never waste any..."
Meanwhile, if you're unsure if you are eligible to get a Covid-19 vaccine yet, give Berrys Health Centre Pharmacy a call on 06 368 7922, and they'll let you know.
Final words of advice from Wolfenden, "if the [Covid-19] Delta variant does arrive [in New Zealand] we need to be prepared, so vaccinate, don't delay."
