Community clinic now open for the entire rural Taranaki community

More than 2,500 Stratford people received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccination at a recent community clinic – and now the rest of rural Taranaki are being invited to come along!

Another community clinic is taking place in Stratford on Friday 20 August and Saturday 21 August and bookings are now open for anyone living in rural Taranaki aged 16 and over to come and receive their vaccination.

Steven Parrish, Taranaki Covid-19 Vaccination Programme senior responsible officer, said “We know that this is a busy time for our rural communities, so we want to make it as easy as possible for people to come and get their vaccination.

“Booking an appointment is the best way for us to get you through as quickly as possible, but if you don’t know until the day if you can make it, that’s fine – just come along, bring the whānau, and we will fit you in.”

Bookings for the rural community clinic can be made online at BookMyVaccine.nz using the access code BD8SUD5QH3, or by calling 0800 28 29 26 and giving the code to the person that answers. Your second dose appointment will be made automatically at the same time. Anyone aged 16 and over can be vaccinated at this clinic.

The community clinic held at the Stratford War Memorial Centre on Aug 6 and 7, ran like clockwork with local residents in and out within an hour for the most part. Steven said “Thanks to the hard work of the management team, our fantastic vaccinators and admin team, and Stratford Lions and St Johns Ambulance volunteers, the clinic was a real success.”

“The Stratford community gave us such positive feedback; it was a pleasure to be able to provide this service for them.”

More than 36,000 people living in Taranaki have now received a COVID-19 vaccination, and the programme continues to ramp up the roll-out by adding GP clinics and pharmacies to the number of places people can go to receive their vaccination.