The NT Government has confirmed Darwin and Alice Springs will be vaccination hubs, while one of the NT's leading doctors says Katherine should be included.
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Speaking to the media on Thursday morning, Chief Minister Michael Gunner said Phase 1a of vaccinations will be rolled out for frontline healthcare, aged care, disability care, as well as quarantine and border control workers.
The so called 'hospital hubs' for this initial roll out will be based in Darwin and Alice Springs and the Pfizer jab will be used, which requires strict refrigeration and temperature control during storage and transport.
Australian Medical Association NT president Robert Parker said this is the main challenge facing the government when they decide how to distribute the vaccine in regional NT, as the alternative AstraZeneca vaccine isn't available yet but requires less temperature control.
"The problem is... the Pfizer vaccine... you need to be very strict.
"Potentially the Pfizer vaccine can only be delivered in hospitals... while the AZ [AstraZeneca] vaccine can probably be distributed from community health clinics."
He said Katherine is capable of managing the temperature of the Pfizer vaccine and would make an ideal hub for the region.
"Katherine Hospital would be be able to enforce the cold-chain stuff, that wouldn't be a drama," Dr Parker said.
He said Katherine's central location for the region and proximity to Indigenous communities make it an intrinsic location for a hub in future stages of the vaccine rollout, as it's expanded to other elderly and vulnerable Australians.
An NT Government spokeswoman told the Katherine Times Darwin and Alice Springs have been chosen because they are also host to quarantine facilities.
However, she said Katherine residents who are eligible for the vaccine in the first phase can still get the jab.
Whether they will have to travel to Darwin or Alice Springs, or if a team of vaccine distributors will travel to the town has not been determined according to the spokeswoman.
"However anyone in Katherine who meets the criteria, absolutely they'll be getting vaccinated," she said.
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