ALTHOUGH calls to reopen an emergency Covid-19 vaccination centre in Killarney have not been heeded, the vaccination campaign is being ramped up in Tralee as the demand for testing increases rapidly, the HSE has confirmed.
At a meeting of Kerry County Council on Monday, Killarney councillor John O’Donoghue said given the recent surge in Covid-19 cases, and the delays being experienced in getting a PCR test, the HSE should open testing centres in all the major towns ion the county.
Instead, the centre in Monavalley has been approved for an increase in staff numbers and an extension of opening hours.
The facility will schedule as many appointments as possible in the coming days and weeks and with the 60-plus age group, steady progress on the 50-59 age-group is being reported with more appointments scheduled this week.
The Tralee centre is currently vaccinating more than 800 people a day and a walk-in vaccination clinic, to offer booster doses to eligible people aged 50 and over, will be open on the Monavalley site on Saturday from 8.30am to 4.30pm.
The centre is vaccinating by appointment on weekdays for people aged between 50 and 59 and people who recently registered for first and second doses of a Covid-19 vaccination.
As well as the walk-in clinic, the Tralee centre is offering outreach clinics to vaccinate housebound people at home, appointments for booster vaccinations to eligible people aged 50 and over and catering for any remaining healthcare workers yet to receive a booster.
“We would also like to thank and acknowledge the GPs and pharmacies across the region who are supporting the vaccination roll-out by offering booster vaccinations,” a spokesperson for the HSE said.
