NORTH West Victoria has reached a new milestone in the fight against COVID-19, with data released this week showing more than 70 per cent of eligible people have rolled their sleeves up for the vaccine.
For Member for Mallee Anne Webster, having 71.11 per cent of eligible people in her electorate at least single-dosed was an achievement to celebrate.
“70 per cent of the eligible population living in Mallee Local Government Areas have now received at least one dose of a vaccine against COVID-19,” she said.
“This is a huge milestone and shows we are well on our way to reaching the key target of 80 per cent of the eligible population fully vaccinated.”
Australia’s plan for reopening indicates that restrictions will be relaxed when 70 per cent of the eligible population is fully vaccinated nationally and in that respective state or territory. Restrictions will ease again at the key target of 80 per cent fully vaccinated.
“The National Plan is our vehicle, and the vaccines are our fuel, on the road back to normal life,” Dr Webster said.
“Once we reach 70 per cent and 80 per cent of our population fully vaccinated, life will begin to look a lot more normal, albeit COVID normal.”
Nationwide, Australia is likely to meet the 80 per cent target in mid-November, while Victoria is on track to meet the 70 per cent target in the middle of November and hit 80 per cent in early December.
NSW’s bolstered vaccine supplies mean the state is likely to get there faster, hitting 70 per cent fully vaccinated in about a month, and 80 per cent towards the end of October. Almost 80 per cent of people in NSW have already received at least one dose.
But closer to home, just 64.2 per cent of people in Wentworth Shire have had their first dose, including 37.6 per cent who are fully vaccinated, and Mildura Rural City Council is now the only local government area in north-west Victoria not to have reached 70 per cent single-dose vaccination.
With just 64.77 per cent of eligible people in the MRCC area having had at least their first jab and 37.68 per cent fully vaccinated, the LGA falls far behind counterparts in Swan Hill, Gannawarra and Yarrambiack, which are all well above 70 per cent first-dosed, while Buloke Shire is streets ahead on 82.12 per cent.
However, Dr Webster said the pace at which Mildura residents had been filling up vaccination appointments over the last week was “very promising”.
“2,823 people had their first dose, and 1,433 people had their second dose in just one week,” she said.
Providers in Sunraysia have been distributing the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines for several months. The Moderna vaccine, which uses similar mRNA technology to Pfizer, could roll out as soon as next week after being approved for people aged 12 and over earlier this month.
One of the region’s largest vaccine providers, Sunraysia Community Health Services, has given more than 9000 AstraZeneca and Pfizer doses over the last few months.
SCHS chief executive Simone Heald said demand on the service wouldn’t be slowing down any time soon, with the eligible vaccination age dropped to 12 years old from this week.
But with vaccine allocation increasing weekly, Ms Heald was confident the Sunraysia community was well on the way to arming itself against COVID-19.
“Appointments for both AstraZeneca and Pfizer continue to book up within hours of becoming available,” she said. “This continued effort will hopefully see our region hit vaccination targets in the near future and bring us all closer to enjoying a more normal way of life again.”
More information on the vaccine rollout can be found on the Health Department website.
