Katherine front line to receive Covid jab soon - no word on where it will happen

This comes as the first load of AstraZeneca vaccines arrived in Australia last weekend, ahead of their expected rollout next week.

A NT Health spokeswoman said further plans related to the AstraZeneca vaccine and additional hubs will be announced soon.

"Royal Darwin Hospital and Alice Springs Hospital Vaccination Hubs are developing plans with regional teams to vaccinate eligible staff as part of Phase 1A in Yulara, Tennant Creek, Katherine and Gove in the next couple of weeks," the spokeswoman said.

However, the spokeswoman did not directly answer questions regarding Phase 1A eligible people in Katherine having to interrupt their essential work, which often involves caring for vulnerable people, to travel long distances to access the vaccine at the Darwin hub.

The spokeswoman also did not reveal if Katherine will be included as a hub in later stages of the rollout, but said no essential work in Darwin and Alice Springs had been interrupted so far.

"Administration of the COVID-19 vaccine as part of Phase 1A has been undertaken with no interruption to service delivery of healthcare in the NT," she said.

NT residents who are being vaccinated under Phase 1A are:

High-risk health care workers include staff working in emergency departments, respiratory wards and clinics, and intensive care units across the NT, as well as ambulance workers, Careflight and Royal Flying Doctor Service staff, and staff in COVID-19 testing clinics.

NT Health is managing most of the Phase 1A rollout, with the Federal Government handling aged and disability care.

According to the NT Health spokeswoman, 985 NT residents had received the COVID-19 vaccine as of Monday night.

These people received the Pfizer vaccination, which must be stored and transported at below -70 degrees, making distribution to regional and remote regions a challenge.

The AstraZeneca does not require such cold storage and 50 million doses are expected to be produced in Australia.

Australian Medical Association NT president Robert Parker has 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.

The Federal Health Department was contacted for comment on the rollout in Katherine's aged and disability care facilities.

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