Deakin University\u2019s chair of epidemiology Professor Catherine Bennett said the outbreak \u2013 which led to the reintroduction of some of Victoria\u2019s toughest restrictions \u2013 was \u201ca warning call\u201d and might have been the only thing that would motivate some people to get vaccinated.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, once it starts like this, you have the exposure before you even know it\u2019s even happened, and you can\u2019t just snap your fingers, get vaccinated and have it all fixed tomorrow; it takes weeks if not months.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so important that everybody gets in for their first dose and starts the process, otherwise we\u2019ll just stay vulnerable for longer and longer and pay the price.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf this outbreak in Victoria isn\u2019t the kind of prompt people need to realise the risk in our community, I don\u2019t know what is.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said concerns about hesitancy had existed for some time because of the misinformation about vaccines for the COVID-19 virus more broadly.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a different concern in Australia, too, because we didn\u2019t have that drive (to be vaccinated) that comes from knowing people who\u2019ve had serious illness and have lost people and seeing the impacts.<\/p>\n
\u201cToo many people did experience that in Victoria, but country-wide, we weren\u2019t anywhere near the same exposure as other countries, so people didn\u2019t have that same fear or motivation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the middle, we had people that were just a bit confused, who just thought \u2018I\u2019ll wait until it all settles down\u2019, even when they knew we had empty vaccination hubs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prof. Bennett said the rest of the vaccination rollout needed to be \u201cas smooth as possible\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t want to make it confusing, we did want to be strategic and target the most exposed and most vulnerable first, but in the end we\u2019ve got a whole lot of other people that are really eager to have the vaccine who are just waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although acknowledging it would have been better to have a steady stream of people getting vaccinated over time at places such as Barwon Health\u2019s hub in North Geelong rather than the sudden influx of the past week, Prof. Bennett said the public\u2019s response in recent days was reassuring.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt tells us that a lot of people just didn\u2019t get around to it; it was not a definite decision not to,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it\u2019s critical now, because actually deciding not to get your vaccination this week is a decision \u2013 it\u2019s not putting off a decision, it\u2019s making a decision because every week counts.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can get whatever vaccine you like next year, just get the one you\u2019re eligible for now to at least start that protection process.<\/p>\n
\u201cPutting it off means you could be in a vulnerable position yourself down the track and have to spend the next three months navigating your way out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The sense of hesitancy in Victorians about getting their coronavirus vaccination has dropped sharply, with tens of thousands rushing to get their first jab since last week\u2019s outbreak in Melbourne and the subsequent May 28 statewide lockdown. Deakin University\u2019s chair of epidemiology Professor Catherine Bennett said the outbreak \u2013 which led to the reintroduction of […]<\/p>\n