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Half of Murray River Council residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19
Murray River Council residents are flying in the race to get vaccinated for COVID-19, with the third highest first dose rate in Australia.
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Data released by the Australian Health Department on the weekend shows 79 per cent of residents aged over 15 in the local government area have received their first dose and 50 per cent are fully vaccinated.
Murray River Council Mayor Chris Bilkey was pleased with the numbers but said there was more work to do.
“Clearly the government’s target level is 80 per cent but we’d like to be more like 90 to 90-plus per cent fully vaccinated by the end of October, and I think that’s very achievable,” he said.
“Some of our outlying communities are not as highly vaccinated as the central areas around Moama and so on.”
Cr Bilkey said the council wasn’t resting on its laurels and would produce signage around all communities encouraging people to roll up their sleeves and get the jab.
He also said the council was working with Murrumbidgee Local Health District to have a mobile vaccination clinic travel into remote communities across the footprint, where some residents had to travel over an hour to access a vaccine.
“We believe the best way out for the country is to get ourselves to those targets as soon as we possibly can,” he said.
“Moama in particular has a significant older population and of course AstraZeneca’s always been available to them.
“We’d love to see the vaccination rate for the younger people climb but I think we’ve got off to a good start.”
The Campaspe region is further behind its cross-border neighbour, with 53 per cent of residents having received one dose — ranked 34th in Victoria — and 36 per cent fully vaccinated.
The Murray Primary Health Network, which covers the Campaspe region, helps to provide planning, co-ordination and communication to vaccine providers, supporting the national COVID-19 vaccine rollout across the catchment.
MPHN chief executive Matt Jones said the Shepparton outbreak was a clear reminder every community was at risk of COVID-19.
“Everyone who is eligible should be making their first appointment, or making sure they schedule their second appointment, so they are fully vaccinated as quickly as possible,” he said.
Getting a vaccination is one of the five permitted reasons to leave home — and to cross the NSW-Victoria border for bubble residents — but Mr Jones said it was much more.
“Not only do COVID-19 vaccines reduce the risk of getting severe disease or dying, they are our passport back to doing all the things we enjoy, such as visiting our friends and families,” he said.
Echuca Regional Health’s COVID-19 vaccination clinic saw a big day on Saturday, with 300 doses administered, after a positive case in a local aged care worker was detected.
“Since commencing our vaccination program at ERH, we have administered almost 11,000 doses to our community and we know GPs are at a similar number,” ERH chief executive Nick Bush said.
“We encourage our community to come forward for a vaccination and support our town in coming together to do our bit to ensure we can reach the national targets.
“Whilst we are governed by state supply levels and have to open up Pfizer bookings in a staged process, booking spaces are continuing to fill up quickly, which shows that demand to get vaccinated is definitely strong in our community.”
He said he anticipated the numbers would continue to rise, with 16- to 39-year-olds recently becoming eligible for Pfizer.
In another strong showing, Njernda Medical Centre in Echuca surpassed 600 doses administered on Monday.
The most vaccinated local government area in Australia is Queenscliffe in Victoria, where 64 per cent of residents are fully vaccinated and 87 per cent have had one dose.
Among Campaspe's neighbouring shires, Greater Bendigo has 62 per cent first dose and 41 per cent fully vaccinated, Gannawarra has 64 per cent first dose and 35 per cent fully vaccinated and Greater Shepparton has 56 per cent first dose and 33 per cent fully vaccinated.
Edward River Council has the lowest rate in NSW: 42 per cent of residents have received their first dose and 26 per cent are fully vaccinated.
ERH’s vaccination clinic at 238 High St is open Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm and from 11am for AstraZeneca walk-ins.
To book a first or second dose of Pfizer, visit erh.org.au/covid-19-vaccinations
A list of local providers including GPs and pharmacies offering the vaccines is available on the Riv website.
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