Booster rates celebrated by COVID commander

GREATER Bendigo residents have been commended for their willingness to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by pandemic commander Jeroen Weimar, but he warned work is not over yet as the cold season looms.

Mr Weimar visited the Mollison Street vaccination hub last Thursday where he thanked all those involved in the vaccine rollout for getting half of the eligible Bendigo population boosted against the virus, with 16 and 17 year olds added to the third dose program that morning.

“The Bendigo region has absolutely smashed the vaccination program both times around,” he said.

“First and second dose uptake was really strong and really fast, and I think Bendigo will be one of our first regions to hit 50 per cent of people getting their third dose.

“That’s a great achievement of the whole Bendigo community and that’s how we stay on top of these COVID positive cases.

“We’re still seeing new active cases in Bendigo… COVID is very real in this community as it is in every community across regional Victoria but it’s great to see the pace and momentum and, meeting the teams here this morning, the strong desire we’ve got to get you all vaccinated.”

With 50 local hospital staff a day off work due to sickness or exposure to COVID-19, Bendigo Health board chair Bob Cameron said the strong vax rates were helping to protect the healthcare system and community.

“As a result of the very high double vaccination rate [and] as one of the leaders when it comes to boosters, that’s why we are starting to see the [COVID positive patient] numbers in hospital drop away,” he said.

However, state authorities are bracing for a “number of scenarios” during autumn and winter like potential new virus variants, and hospitalisation numbers are expected to fluctuate into the future, according to Mr Weimar.

“It’s the basic COVID safe measures around social distancing where possible, hand hygiene, mask wearing indoors when you can’t socially distance properly and making sure your vaccine status is up to date, those will be the hallmarks of how we get through the months ahead and how we get through the winter later on,” he said.

Mr Weimar said conversations were ongoing about making a COVID-19 booster shot mandatory both at national cabinet and within the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.

“Our expectation in the Victorian Department of Health would be that we will be moving into a world where to be fully vaccinated will mean having three doses,” he said.

“We should all expect that to be something we’re all going to have to do. The sooner we do it when we become eligible for our third dose, I think the better we’ll be.”