Waitara Pharmacy joins the drive to vaccinate Taranaki against COVID-19

As the ramp up of the Taranaki COVID-19 vaccination effort gets underway, Waitara Pharmacy is joining the roll-out.

The first pharmacy to partner with the programme, the staff at Waitara Pharmacy will be administering COVID-19 vaccinations between 9am and 12pm from Monday 19 July, and then between 9am and 5pm from Monday 26 July.

“As a team, we are very excited to be joining the Taranaki COVID-19 vaccination programme to give our support to the roll-out, as well as providing a local vaccination service for the people of Waitara,” says Margaret Helms, Waitara Pharmacy’s owner. “With around 100,000 people in Taranaki to vaccinate, pharmacies will play an important role in providing access to the protection a COVID-19 vaccination provides.”

Vaccination appointments at Waitara Pharmacy can be booked by those in Group 1 or Group 2, and those in Group 3 who have received an invitation containing their unique access code, by calling the national call centre on 0800 28 29 26. An online booking link, included in the Group 3 invite, will also give individuals the option to book at the pharmacy at 46 King Street, Waitara.

“We are pleased to be welcoming Waitara Pharmacy onto the programme as part of the onboarding process currently underway for another ten GP clinics and pharmacies,” says Rachel Court, Taranaki COVID-19 Vaccination Programme operations lead.

“We have always known that support from our primary care providers would be invaluable as the numbers being vaccinated each week in Taranaki as part of the programme ramped up, so it is great to see our planning coming to fruition.”

Currently, those who meet the Group 3 criteria are being invited to make an appointment to receive a vaccination from the programme. This invitation is being sent via GPs as an email, letter, text or via the GP portal. Some people may be invited by other organisations as well, so may receive more than one invitation.

Appointment slots will open for those in Group 4 who are aged 60 and over from July 28 – more information about how to do this will be available soon. Group criteria and an online tool to help you find out which group you are in can be found at Find out what group you're in | Unite against COVID-19

To get the latest updates, and to learn more about the COVID-19 vaccination roll-out in Taranaki, visit TDHB - COVID-19