A pop-up COVID-19 vaccination clinic for people experiencing homelessness and disadvantage has been established in Footscray.
Not-for-profit community health organisation Cohealth opened the clinic at 6-12 Buckley Street on Tuesday last week.
Two nurse immunisers, a social worker, a clerical services officer and a peer worker who has experienced homelessness make up the vaccination team, which has the capacity to vaccinate 40 people per day.
The take-up of vaccines last week was 100 per cent.
Cohealth chief executive Nicole Bartholomeusz said taking the COVID-19 vaccine to the most at-risk Victorians was a critical part of the pandemic response.
“People experiencing homelessness are arguably our most disadvantaged community members,” she said.
“Taking healthcare to where people are in the community is a fundamental principle of community health.
“Vaccinating people experiencing homelessness and other transient populations presents additional challenges due to the complexity of coordinating second doses with each client.
“Having someone with a lived experience of homelessness on the team is vital because they can engage with the clients based on their shared experience.”
The rollout of the homelessness vaccine team follows peer workers delivering flyers and information sessions to rooming houses and homelessness drop-in centres.
The vaccine program will continue over the coming weeks to other centres and services used by people experiencing homelessness.
Cohealth is this week preparing to administer its 25,000th vaccine since it started delivering doses in March.
The Footscray clinic is not open to the general community.
For more information visit cohealth.org.au
