MILDURA’S political leaders are divided on Sunraysia being overlooked as a COVID-19 vaccine hub for the first-stage Pfizer rollout later this month.
Federal Member for Mallee Anne Webster has labelled the Andrews Government’s decision to omit Mildura from the nine vaccine hubs across the state as “disappointing”.
But State Member for Mildura Ali Cupper said there was a “clear justification” for our “low-risk zone” missing out.
Dr Webster said where you live should not change the priority.
“All Australians, including those in Mildura, and indeed across the Mallee, are a part of the Commonwealth Government’s plan for the COVID-19 vaccine rollout,” she said.
“We have healthcare workers, aged care workers and residents who are vulnerable and at higher risk should COVID come to Mallee.
“It is disappointing that Mildura, Swan Hill or Horsham were not included on the list, even though Mildura was suggested initially as hub location.”
The new hubs will be based in public hospitals at Albury-Wodonga Health, Austin Health, Ballarat Health, Barwon Health, Bendigo Health, Goulburn Valley Health, Latrobe Health, Monash Health and Western Health.
Ms Cupper said the areas with the highest need and risk will go first.
“There’s no conspiracy behind this,” the independent State MP said.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is the first to be approved for use in Australia and is expected to be available from late February for frontline health workers, hotel quarantine staff and aged care workers and residents.
Two doses of the vaccine will be administered at least three weeks apart and it must be stored and transported at -70C.
A Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman said this was “just the start” of the vaccine rollout program.
“There will be many further sites announced across Victoria, including local community-based GP sites, as more vaccines receive approval and the program expands into subsequent phases,” the spokeswoman said.
Ms Cupper assured local residents that “we will get the vaccine in Mildura”.
“This is a low-risk zone. This is a very finite resource at this time,” she said.
“If you look at the (positive COVID-19) cases for Shepparton, they were higher than Mildura. They even had deaths. And of course there was that big spike in cases at Colac.
“From a statewide public health perspective, there is a clear justification for a rollout starting in certain areas that don’t include Mildura.”
It’s likely the less effective Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine will be made available to the majority of residents in the latter stages of the rollout.
However, Ms Cupper called for calm over what vaccine eventually arrives in Mildura.
“In terms of Australian medical science, the position of the public health officials is that for preventing serious cases of COVID, both of those vaccines are of equal efficacy,” she said.
“I don’t want to indulge this idea that it becomes an adversarial battle between these two different vaccines.
“There might be some differences in the subsets of each of them, but I just don’t think we should get hung up on it.”
Asked whether she will be getting the jab, she said: “I will be there with my GP getting the vaccine as soon as I’m deemed to be next in line.”
Dr Webster said she would also be getting vaccinated as soon as it was available to her.
“I want to encourage everyone in Mallee to take up the vaccine, for the safety and care of the whole community,” she said.
Mildura councillor Stefano de Pieri joined Dr Webster in questioning why Mildura had missed out on being part of the first Pfizer rollout in regional Victoria.
The 66-year-old – who has had his spleen removed – is one of the many vulnerable people in the community who will not qualify for the early uptake of the Pfizer vaccine.
“It’s unfair that our frontline workers will not be getting the Pfizer vaccine,” the celebrity cook said after the hub announcement on Wednesday.
“What is the discriminating factor behind Mildura missing out?
“And on what basis did the government make the decisions on where the Pfizer vaccine would be rolled out?”
Sunraysia Daily put these questions to Health Minister Martin Foley’s office, but did not receive a response.
