Protecting the villages with the Covid vaccine

Epsom Village completed the vaccination program for Covid-19 with the administration of the second dose on Monday 30th of August. The Team at Walls and Roche Pharmacy (Royal Oak) were on site and thanks to them the process was seamless. The Lounge and Library were transformed into a makeshift vaccination centre: a reception area, 2 vaccination booths, an area for drawing up the vaccine and an observation area. The vaccination was conducted with strict social distancing and mask wearing.

Real Living Group has almost completed the Covid vaccination program for their staff and residents. At Pakuranga Park one of the registered nurses, Ria Byron trained as a vaccinator when Covid-19 vaccinations were about to be available in New Zealand. According to Real Living’s Clinical Manager Karen Talbot, having their own trained personnel eased the process with the residents: “Ria has been an invaluable resource to the residents, their families and our teams, educating them and increasing their understanding of the importance of protecting our most vulnerable people and how the vaccination can assist in keeping us all safe.”

Karen Talbot has a long and extensive career in nursing and clinical operations leadership. As the Group’s Clinical Manager, she realized very early on about the necessity to internally organize the vaccination process: “At Real Living the safety of our residents is our top priority, which is why we moved quickly to find an internal solution to speed up the availability to the Covid-19 vaccination. We had previously arranged flu vaccinations for our Residents and staff and it seemed the right thing to do, to find a way to enable everyone to have easy access to the Covid-19 vaccination.”

The Real Living family is now part of the 32% of New Zealanders who have been fully vaccinated, according to the official data available up until the 10th of August.