A 10-PERSON rapid response team travelled from Bendigo to Robinvale on Tuesday to help with an increased demand for testing and vaccination in the community.
There were seven new cases recorded on Tuesday, taking Robinvale’s total active case numbers to 16.
Robinvale District Health Service COVID officer Anita Erlandsen said there had been increased numbers of people lining up to be tested and vaccinated after the death last week of a Robinvale woman due to COVID.
“People are fronting up to be tested in probably numbers that are really quite high for our little town,” Ms Erlandsen said.
“We’re getting a lot of inquiries about vaccinations again, so we’re hoping that that that’s going to turn into people actually fronting up to get vaccinated.”
While Victorian Government data indicates that second-dose vaccination rates for Robinvale’s post code (3549) are above 95 per cent, Ms Erlandsen said the second dose rate wasn’t “as high as we would like it”.
Given the shifting nature of the current outbreak, she said RDHS would update its social media with the latest testing and vaccination clinic times.
Across the state more Victorians are eligible for a booster shot from Tuesday.
While anyone who had their second dose more than five months ago was already eligible for a third dose, Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) changed its recommended interval from five to four months.
People who received their second dose in October will be able to receive a booster dose in February, and, according to the Victorian Department of Health, people fully vaccinated in November and December would be eligible in March and April, respectively.
A state-run vaccination clinic re-opened Wednesday at Mildura’s Kiarivu Barracks Army Drill Hall and will also be open Fridays to Sundays from 9am to 2.30pm.
Sunraysia Community Health Services will reopen its vaccination clinic on January 8, however, it will not offer the Moderna vaccine.
Meanwhile, Mallee District Aboriginal Health Services resumed its vaccination clinic on Orange Avenue, offering the booster shot from Tuesdays to Thursdays between 10am and 1pm.
Booster vaccines, which are not mandatory, are also available from local GPs and pharmacies.
In its update from December 12, ATAGI said it made the change to booster intervals as preliminary data suggested “the increased antibody levels generated following a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose may offer improved protection against the Omicron variant”.
“However, the correlation between antibody levels in laboratory studies and protection against infection and severe disease is not yet established,” the update said.
Children aged five to 11 are eligible to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine from 10 January 2022, and SCHS are taking bookings now for children, while MDAS will begin giving vaccinations on January 18.
