Tuesday, 14 September 2021
PEOPLE across the region are continuing to roll up their sleeves in record numbers, with now almost 70 per cent of the region’s population, 15 years and over, having received their first dose of COVID vaccine, Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall announced today.
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 still leading the way for the region with first-dose vaccine rates in excess of 73 per cent
“These figures are incredibly heartening and I cannot thank the community enough for the effort they are making, turning out and rolling up their sleeves,” Mr Marshall said.
“Almost 70 per cent of the people in our region has now received their first dose of COVID vaccine, an increase of five 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 the Inverell Shire (now at 65.8% first doses), which recorded its second successive week of a six-plus per cent increase in first doses.
“Uralla has maintained its lead over the region and is now just shy of 74 per cent (73.9%) of its adult population vaccinated with their first dose, which is credit to the local GPs, pharmacy and community,” he said.
“Glen Innes Severn is only just behind Uralla, with 73.4 per cent first dose rate, and is catching up fast, recording a 5.5 per cent increase on the previous week, which is great to see.
“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 42 per cent of their population fully vaccinated – Uralla LGA has an enormous 45.5 per cent with two doses, Glen Innes Severn has 43.3 per cent and Armidale Regional stands at 42.6 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 to the 80 per cent mark, the sooner we can have certainty and can get back to some form of normality in our daily lives – and never have lockdowns again.
“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