Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) crews continue to go the distance delivering COVID-19 vaccines across regional and remote Western Australia, marking its delivery of the 5000th vaccine at a clinic held in Newman in the Pilbara last Friday.
The milestone was made extra special with Senior Martu Leader Mukki Taylor from Parrngurr (Cotton Creek), believed to be the first in his community to come through the Newman clinic to receive his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
So far the RFDS has administered 1,746 vaccines across the remote Pilbara region of Western Australia, providing education to local health services and transporting and administering Pfizer vaccines in Newman, Marble Bar, Nullagine, Punmu, Cotton Creek, Kunawarritjii and Jigalong.
On any given day, the RFDS COVID-19 vaccination team could be transporting vaccines, administering vaccines, educating healthcare workers and providing health and vaccine promotion in communities we provide care to on a regular basis.
The RFDS COVID-19 vaccination team works in groups of three to manage the logistics of transporting the vaccines anywhere from one to up to three locations per day.
This has been achieved as our crews on the frontline of our 24-hour emergency service continue to go the distance across WA, delivering essential primary healthcare clinics and retrieving on average 27 patients a day to definitive care.
RFDS COVID-19 immunisation nurse Claire who has been part of the vaccination program since May says delivering vaccines to the furthest corners of Western Australia has been a rewarding experience.
“We had Senior Martu Leader Muuki Taylor from Parrngurr (Cotton Creek) come through who I believe is the first person in his community to get vaccinated. A great achievement!,” Claire reports from the Newman clinic.
“We had a patient who was receiving her second dose bring along her three daughters for their first doses. It was an amazing experience to be part of that excitement.”
On behalf of our crews and patients, the RFDS thanks the Pilbara community for their ongoing support and for rolling up for WA!
The RFDS acknowledges the #rollupforwa effort is a critical and ongoing team effort and we are proud to provide Western Australians living in our vast and remote regions access to the COVID-19 vaccines.
