Goya Dmytryshchak
Two major vaccination hubs have been established in Altona North and Newport as an Altona North man in his 60s became the third Victorian in a week to die with COVID-19.
As of Tuesday, there were 166 active cases in Hobsons Bay, 141 of them in Altona North and Newport.
A pop-up hub at the Australian Islamic Centre (AIC) in Newport opened on Tuesday and will deliver up to 270 doses a day from Monday to Friday until September 20.
A vaccination ‘surge centre’ at the Altona Badminton Centre in Altona North was trialled on Saturday and will operate for at least one month.
Hobsons Bay mayor Jonathon Marsden has pleaded for more vaccine doses.
“The Altona North and Newport communities are now dealing with over 140 active COVID cases and in Hobsons Bay we have more than 50 exposure sites,“ he said.
“This is a grave concern for residents and council.
“We know vaccine doses need to be shared across the state but there is a critical urgency to increase availability in Hobsons Bay to help contain this current outbreak.“
The surge centre at 217 Mason Street is led by the Commonwealth Vaccination Centre run by Mukesh Haikerwal.
It will offer Pfizer and AstraZeneca to people aged 12 and over.
At the Australian Islamic Centre at 23-27 Blenheim Road, Western Health staff will administer Phizer and AstraZeneca to people aged 16 and over.
AIC board secretary Azzam Barakat said the centre had been built to “welcome everyone in our society with open arms in good times and challenging times“.
“Today and in partnership with Western Health we welcome and invite our community in Hobsons Bay and the western suburbs of Melbourne to come to the centre and receive their COVID-19 vaccine,“ he said.
“We are pleased to be working with the Victorian Department of Health to bring the vaccination closer to people in a setting that’s familiar to them.“
There will be Arabic-speaking doctors and translators onsite.
Williamstown MP Melissa Horne said more vaccinations were expected to be coming “depending on need“.
“It’s so encouraging to see that people have flocked to the Altona North and Newport facilities to get vaccinated,“ she said.
Bookings for the surge centre can be made at healthengine.com.au/book/86832.
Bookings for the Australian Islamic Centre can be made at calendly.com/aicbooking.
