Wednesday, 1 September 2021
RATES of COVID-19 vaccination across the region continue to soar at break-neck speed, with almost 60 per cent of the region’s population, 15 years and over, having now received their first dose, according to data released today by Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall.
A delighted Mr Marshall released the weekly COVID-19 vaccination rate update for each local government area across the Northern Tablelands, provided by the Commonwealth Department of Health, which shows the Uralla and Glen Innes communities leading the way for the region with first-dose vaccine rates in excess of 60 per cent
“These figures are amazing and I cannot thank the community enough for the effort they are making, turning out and rolling up their sleeves,” Mr Marshall said.
“Almost 60 per cent of the people in our region has now received their first dose of COVID vaccine, an increase of 7.6 per cent on the previous week.
“Overall, I think this reflects the increasing desire of people to get vaccinated, but also the increasing opportunities to do so across the region.”
Mr Marshall praised the efforts of medical practitioners in Uralla Shire, which recorded an incredible 20.3 per cent increase in first doses since last week.
“Uralla has bolted out of the blocks with a massive 20-plus per cent increase since last week, which is credit to the local GPs, pharmacy and community,” he said.
“Uralla is now leading the pack in the race to get to the 80 per cent mark.
“Moree has had a large bump of first doses (7.6% increase) in the last week, which reflects the success of last weekend’s Super Saturday mass vaccination walk-in hub.”
“It just shows that when opportunities are made available to get vaccinated more quickly and more easily, people are happy to take advantage.”
Three local government areas have more than 30 per cent of their population fully vaccinated – Uralla LGA has 32.8 per cent with two doses, Armidale Regional has 31.6 per cent and Moree Plains Shire stands at 30.3 per cent.
“Congratulations and thank you to everyone who has rolled up their sleeves and also to all our medical professionals who are working hard to put these vaccines into arms across the region,” Mr Marshall said.
“We’ve now got to keep up the pace and our effort – as we know, the faster we can get up around the 70 to 80 per cent mark, the sooner we can have certainty and can get back to some form of normality in our daily lives.
“While the National Vaccination Rollout has been clunky and difficult to navigate for many, there are now many opportunities across our region to get vaccinated and get vaccinated quickly and I urge people to make an appointment today and do their bit for themselves, their family and their community.”
To find your nearest COVID vaccination clinic, visit www.covid-vaccine.healthdirect.gov.au/eligibility
Mr Marshall said he’d be releasing new figures each week, so communities could see how they were tracking.
The next Super Saturday UNE Medical School Mass vaccination Hub will be in Glen Innes this weekend.