New Indigenous outreach clinic at Umina

From left: Dr Jay, CEO Belinda Field, Practice Manager Jessica Wheeler and Business Manager, Paul Hussein

A new COVID-19 vaccination clinic aimed at supporting the Indigenous community has opened its doors in Umina.

The outreach clinic at 4 Berith St, which is run by Yerin Eleanor Duncan Aboriginal Health Services, can provide AztraZeneca and Pfizer doses to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 12 years and older, including non-Aboriginal partners and household members.

Children aged 15 years
and younger must be accompanied by a parent/guardian aged 18 years.

Business manager, Paul Hussein, said the clinic will be operating out of the former Family Medicine Umina Beach centre for the next nine months.

“From late October, we will be running an outreach clinic … it’ll be a new clinic on the Peninsula that we’ve not seen before,” Hussein said.

“We are seeing a drop off in vaccine appointments – we would see an average of 70 to100 people a week at our main site in Wyong, but that is dropping off too because people are progressing through with their immunisations.

“We don’t have any data on individuals who are yet to be immunised.

“There is low uptake at the moment, but word of mouth is limited because there is no community events happening.”

Hussein said the clinic will be supplying the Moderna vaccine once supply comes through.

If any individual is experiencing homelessness or has a disability, Yerin Eleanor Duncan Aboriginal Health Services said they strongly encourage them to attend the clinic.

A Medicare card and a form of ID is encouraged however if you don’t have this, bookings are still welcome.

Bookings are available via https://bit.ly/3i9VUEe (select the Umina clinic option) or alternatively call 02 4351 1040 for assistance.

Maisy Rae