[ad_1]
“This is a joyous occasion,” said Cork University Hospital (CUH) Assistant Director of Nursing Noreen O’Leary ahead of the opening of a new Covid-19 vaccination center in Cork today.
The Páirc Uí Chaoimh GAA stadium, with its 30 vaccination booths, will administer up to 3,000 Covid-19 vaccines a day when it reaches its maximum capacity.
The rollout begins today, with 1,400 healthcare workers scheduled to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine on Thursday and Friday.
Starting Monday, people aged 16 to 69 at very high risk of developing severe Covid-19 in the government category 4 pool will be vaccinated.
Aífe O’Connell, deputy director of nursing and vaccine leader at the Páirc Uí Chaoimh center said: “I’m really excited. Everyone has worked very hard to get to this point. “
Ms. O’Connell’s team will administer the AstraZeneca vaccines for the next two weeks at the center. The supply will then dictate which vaccine is used next.
The first 10 of the 30 booths open today, in the hope that as the vaccine supply increases, more booths can be used to administer an increasing number of vaccines there.
Depending on the supply of vaccines and the number needed to be vaccinated, the center will have the capacity to operate seven days a week, 12 hours a day.
Noreen O’Leary shared Ms. O’Connell’s excitement.
She said: “I have been working on the front line of CUH. We have seen how terrible it has been for families, our staff and our colleagues. “
“It is a joy rather than seeing the sadness we witness and the frustration of not being able to do anything but take care of families and patients the best we can.”
Her nursing partner Natasha Lewis said: “She feels privileged to be a part of this team and the nation’s recovery. Vaccines are the way to go. I can’t wait to get started. ”
The Páirc Uí Chaoimh vaccination center will be part of a network of five vaccination centers at six locations in Cork.
Patients will enter via Monaghan Road, sign a consent form, receive the vaccine, and then wait 15 minutes in the observation area where a doctor or nurse will be available if a patient has any concerns or shows any unusual adverse reactions.
Center staff will initially work 12-hour shifts, from 8 am to 8 pm.
One of those staff members, Berni O’Sullivan, has worked as a nurse at CUH for 29 years and spent the last year of service in the intensive care ward.
“It was horrible there,” he said.
“So it’s very good to come out of this side after what we’ve been through. I couldn’t say enough about the staff within that unit, they have been outstanding.”
“So it’s so nice to be able to do this, see happy faces. After the year we’ve had, seeing happy faces will do me good.”
[ad_2]