Covid-19 coronavirus: Vaccinations roll out to Whanganui rest homes

Vaccinator Shelley Agar (left) and nurses Rose Bourne, Jenna Jacob and Julia Blaire surround Springvale Manor resident Pat Cooper. Photo / Supplied

Springvale Manor residents were the first from an aged care facility in the Whanganui District Health Board region to receive the Covid-19 Pfizer vaccine.

The 25 residents of the aged and dementia care facility all took the jab on April 30, despite some anxiety from a new resident.

None had had any side effects, manager Agnes Rado-Williams said.

The vaccine was administered at Springvale Manor by a team of health board staff.

Residents were monitored for 20 minutes afterwards, in case of side effects.

The facility's own 30 staff had their first jabs a week earlier, at Whanganui Hospital.

The Pfizer vaccine needs two doses, three weeks apart. They become 95 per cent effective seven days after the second dose.

Springvale Manor residents will get their second dose on May 21.

They and the staff are in group 2 for New Zealand vaccinations, because they are 16 years and over and live or work in a long-term residential care environment.

Flu vaccinations are also available now. Springvale Manor residents will receive theirs three weeks after their final Covid-19 vaccination, in line with Health Ministry advice.

The vaccinations are kept separate, Rado-Williams said, to make it clear which vaccination any side effect relates to.

It was right to vaccinate for Covid-19 first, she said, because it is a more serious illness.

Each of the three vaccinations requires signed consent, either by the resident or by their legal guardian or enduring power of attorney. It took a month to get all the necessary consent, Rado-Williams said, and information sessions were held.

"We consulted GPs and educators, put on education sessions to talk about the pros and cons of the vaccine and gave out information."

Covid-19 is not in the New Zealand community now, but Springvale Manor will not be "letting its guard down", Rado-Williams said. Its staff take the temperature of every visitor.

The health board aims to have vaccination under way at all the region's aged residential care facilities by the end of May, a spokesman said. Edale in Marton, the Laura Fergusson facility and Masonic Court are the next on the list.