MILDURA has been treated like everywhere else in Victoria during the pandemic, so it stands to reason that when it comes to the rollout of vaccines, we will not be treated differently.
But there are already some questioning what vaccine will be available to people in this region.
Will the excuse of our low infection rates and geographic location mean Mildura residents could receive the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, while other regions will receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which has been provisionally approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for people 16 years and older?
The Pfizer vaccine has been reported as being more effective than the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
Mildura councillor Stefano de Pieri raised the issue in the Sunraysia Daily this week, fearing the majority residents in north-west Victoria will miss out on the most effective COVID-19 vaccine.
“I’m anxious about what type of vaccine will be available for people like me,” the 66-year-old said.
“What I want to know if whether there are other regional centres like Bendigo that will be given the leftovers of the Pfizer vaccine ahead of us?”
Sunraysia Daily put that question to Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) last week, but did not receive a direct response. That is understandable given that the nationwide rollout of vaccines has not yet been announced.
But, surely, whatever the government’s rollout plan, there will have to be consistency in who gets what and when.
For instance, it stands to reason that a frontline healthcare worker in Mildura should receive the same vaccine as a frontline healthcare worker in, say, Bendigo, or Melbourne.
That an aged care resident in Mildura should receive the same vaccine as an aged care resident in Geelong or Portsea.
That, as a 45-year-old man with no underlying health issues, I should receive access to the same vaccine as a 45-year-old man in Richmond, or Wangaratta.
That would be a fair and equitable system. Right?
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has argued the need for consistency in his policy making during this pandemic.
So, that has meant slapping the same draconian restrictions and lockdowns on Mildura as the rest of regional Victoria, despite there being next to no cases in this region.
On top of that, we have endured the double whammy of border closures, an impost which continues for no rational reason.
The economic damage has been catastrophic for many businesses, who have been forced to close their doors.
So, if we have been forced to suffer the same consequences of those lockdowns because we are indeed all in this together, the vaccine rollout must not discriminate on the basis of where you live.
A new advertising campaign is being rolled out to encourage Australians to get the coronavirus vaccine.
The $24 million campaign will detail how vaccines will be rolled out to priority groups including the elderly, disabled Australians and frontline workers.
Dosage requirements are also explained.
It’s crucial that the federal and state governments are in sync during the vaccine rollout and get their messaging right.
Mixed messaging during this pandemic has led to a loss of community trust.
We need an injection of faith.
So our question to the government simply remains: When it comes to the vaccine rollout, will all Victorians be treated the same?
