HEALTH authorities will mount a month-long “booster blitz” in Mildura from Monday, as the region lags in third-shot COVID vaccinations.
The Mildura third-dose rate is just 47 per cent of the population, compared to 62 per cent in the Bendigo region.
Loddon Mallee Public Health Unit director Dr Bruce Bolam is calling on eligible Sunraysia people to get their booster.
“I am concerned to see that vaccination rates in Mildura are lagging behind many of the communities in the Loddon Mallee,” he said.
“We want to do everything we can to help people access life-saving COVID-19 vaccines.”
Dr Bolam said staff from the public health unit at Bendigo Health were working with local services to undertake a 30-day booster blitz in Mildura from next Monday, February 21.
In addition to existing local GP and pharmacy services, a seven-day-a-week vaccination clinic is now available from Sunraysia Community Health Services.
Dr Bolam said statistics showed the third jab provided greater protection against COVID and, in particular, the Omicron variant.
“Evidence shows the third dose is critical for protection from severe disease caused by the omicron variant of COVID-19 currently circulating in Mildura,” he said.
“The more people who have a third dose the less likely it is that we will see hospitalisations and deaths within the community.
“I strongly encourage everyone who is eligible for a vaccine to visit our team and have their vaccination during the blitz.”
The Mildura local government area recorded another 115 new confirmed or probable COVID cases on Wednesday, for a total of 675 active cases.
The Robinvale postcode, outside the LGA, recorded 14 new cases, for a total of 68 active cases.
Nationally, daily death figures remain in the double figures in the most populous states. Victoria recorded 18 deaths on Wednesday, Queensland recorded 12, and NSW recorded 27.
Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper reported last week that data showed double-vaccinated Victorians who caught COVID were seven times more likely to need ICU treatment than those who were triple-vaccinated.
COVID patients who had not been vaccinated at all were 34 times more likely to need intensive care than those who had received three shots.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation has changed the “up-to-date” vaccination classification from two doses to three, citing “lower initial vaccine effectiveness” against the Omicron variant from just two doses of Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines.
This effectively means a person previously regarded as “fully vaccinated” by two doses could lose about 50 per cent of their protection within 120 days. ATAGI says the third dose offers an 88 per cent increased effectiveness against hospital admission.
For more information about getting your third booster in the Mildura district, visit www.schs.com.au.
