New drive-through vaccination centre to boost capacity for Hibiscus Coast

The North Shore’s vaccine capacity will be significantly expanded when a drive-through vaccination centre opens north of Albany this week on Wednesday, 8 September.

The drive-through centre will operate from 8:30am-4:00pm, Wednesday to Sunday each week until the end of Alert Level 3.

It will initially provide up to 400 vaccinations per day, with the potential to increase to 1,600 per day over the coming weeks.

The drive-through centre will be by appointment only, and invitations will initially be sent to those living nearby who are yet to receive their first dose. It will then open to bookings for the broader population.

“We are very pleased to be able to offer a new drive-through vaccination option to people living in the north of the metro Auckland region,” Dale Bramley, CEO at Waitematā DHB. “The new drive-through will help us to vaccinate more people closer to home, and provides a great new option for people wanting to get vaccinated safely along with their bubble.”

The drive-through model has been operating successfully under Alert Level 4 at a number of locations around Auckland. The Airport Park and Ride drive-through in Māngere has vaccinated over 35,000 people since it opened on 22 August.

“We’ve found that people like being able to drive up, stay in their own cars, and bring people from their bubble with them to be vaccinated at the same time,” said Matt Hannant, Programme Director at the Northern Region Health Coordination Centre.

“We are initially inviting people living nearby who are yet to get their first dose, 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’ll then open up to the broader public, who will be able to make their bookings online, and we will share further information on this shortly.”

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.

Appointments are also available at community vaccination centres in Albany, Birkenhead, Westgate, Henderson and Trusts Stadium as well as at a range of local GP clinics and pharmacies.

To find out about your vaccination options nearby, visit https://immunisation.northernregion.health.nz/