Small clinic aiding region’s vax effort

FEDERAL MP Lisa Chesters praised the efforts of small respiratory clinics assisting in vaccinating the region, as Bendigo exceeded ninety-two per cent of eligible first dose vaccinations last week.

“I want to say a big thank you to everyone in our Bendigo electorate,” she said.

“I return to Canberra next week and I get to stand on my feet and say 93 per cent of people in the Bendigo electorate have had their first jab.”

The Bendigo Respiratory Clinic in Spring Gully has helped vaccinate over 13,000 people and has taken 12,000 COVID-19 tests.

Clinical manager Ewa Piejko commended her staff for their work.

“When we first started testing here it was a two-week set up time to get going and everybody was a bit scared of the pandemic,” she said.

“To be brave enough to stand up and say we’re going to do this for our community was incredible.

“There’s long days in difficult circumstances, same with the vaccinating and we’ve had a whole lot of new people on board.

“Every day something changes, and they just go with it, whatever they can do to make people comfortable and happy they’ll just to it.”

Dr Piejko said the clinic has helped vaccinate people hesitant at first and having a doctor on site during testing for patient examination has been “excellent”.

“It’s also great that the GPs around town have been happy to send their patients here, it’s been great that they’ve had the faith that we’re going to do the right thing by their patients,” she said.

Ms Chesters also said as the region continues the vaccinated economy trial, the Federal Government needs to do more to educate people, especially older people, about how the vaccine certificate works.

She said there has been confusion over how the Medicare app links with the Vic Services app, and people without access to smartphones may be left behind.

“For people that don’t have that technology, Medicare’s going to have to print off the certificate,” she said.

“If there’s anything the Federal Government could do to help the vaccinated economy, it’s to make sure that Medicare have the staff ready to go to print those certificates for people that don’t have the technology.”