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Drive-through vaccination centres may be used to speed up jabs
Drive-through vaccination centres could be incorporated into the mass roll-out of vaccines, internal HSE documents reveal.
The possibility of “repurposing” Covid-19 drive-through testing centres for mass vaccination was highlighted by the HSE-led Covid-19 Immunisation Programme Implementation Team, a group convened to inform the Vaccine Taskforce. In a document from a January workshop, it was noted that “drive-through facilities have been successfully used in the past for immunisation against other diseases and for testing during the Covid-19 pandemic”.
A note on “repurposing Covid-19 drive-through testing centres for mass vaccination” stated that drive-through testing centres “have proven operationally superior to traditional clinic models for expanding testing capacity in a short period of time”. It was stated that “with advanced planning, they could evolve into include vaccination efforts that leverage existing infrastructure, reduce resource use, improve efficiency, and address barriers to care to better respond to the pandemic”.
Drive-through test centres are still in operation nationwide, although testing at drive-through facilities at the Aviva Stadium, Croke Park and Páirc Uí Chaoimh have been stood down. Countries including Israel, which has more than 55pc of its population fully vaccinated against Covid-19, have successfully rolled out vaccination drive-through centres.
The UK, where 57pc of adults have received at least one jab, and the US, where a third of adults have got the first dose, also have drive-through vaccination facilities.
Last month, Dr Graham Fry, founder and lead medical consultant at the Tropical Medicine Bureau, said: “We need drive-through clinics where you drive up in your car, put down the window, put your arm out and get your vaccine.
“You then wait 15 to 20 minutes and off you go. It makes much more sense and is much quicker.
The HSE workshop on Mass Vaccination Centres highlighted the success of vaccination programmes in Israel, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
Visit our Covid-19 vaccine dashboard for updates on the roll out of the vaccination program and the rate of Coronavirus cases Ireland
Irish Independent
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