By Danielle Kutchel
A new pop-up vaccination centre in Hampton Park has the capacity to vaccinate hundreds of people per day, as Victoria inches towards its jab targets.
The pop-up at Arthur Wren Hall is a walk-in clinic and will be open until Friday 8 October, with AstraZeneca/Vaxzevria and Pfizer available.
It has capacity to give out 300 doses per day.
Vaccination tables and waiting areas are spaced for social distancing, and a doctor is on call for anyone who needs assistance.
Nurse immuniser Edgar Tan said language was no barrier to attendance, with interpreters on call to help with accurate translation of health information.
“Come and get jabbed so we can open up,” he said.
Narre Warren South MP Gary Maas visited the site on Tuesday 5 October and said it was vital that Hampton Park residents come out to get their shots.
“Hampton Park vaccination rates are improving but with 300 jabs a day on offer at the hub, we need those who need the vax to get down to the hub,” he said.
“No appointment is necessary, just turn up, roll up your sleeve and get the jab.
“This simple act will help you, help your loved ones and ensures our community opens up again.”
Sriyanka was among those who walked into the hall on Tuesday to get her Covid vaccination.
She said she chose to get jabbed to keep herself and her family safe.
“I don’t want anybody to have it from me,” she explained.
“I would like the pandemic to end soon and get back to life.”
She urged the community not to put their lives at risk by avoiding vaccination.
“Don’t listen to nonsense from other people. Just do what is right so we can get our lives back,” she said.
Another man who visited on Tuesday and wished to remain anonymous likened the Covid vaccination to those for measles and other infectious diseases, saying that these also faced some opposition originally.
“The process has been gone through,” he said, referring to the development of the Covid vaccine.
“Accept what is there. Vaccines work,” he said.
The pop-up opened in the same week that Victoria recorded the highest number of Covid cases of any state in Australia since the pandemic began, with 1763 local cases on Tuesday 5 October.
Also on Tuesday, authorities announced that cases in the City of Casey had tripled. The LGA recorded 131 cases, bringing the total number of active cases to 719.
120 of those cases are in postcode 3805. There are also 62 active cases in postcode 3976, and 231 in postcode 3977.
Casey has been an area of concern for health authorities for some weeks, with cases rising steadily.
Also this week, health authorities announced tier 2 sites would no longer be uploaded to the coronavirus exposure site list.
Social media users have expressed concern at an apparent delay in the Department of Health uploading details of new exposure sites to its website.
However, the Department insisted there was no delay and said exposure sites were listed as soon as they become known and are verified.
Not all sites get uploaded online; for example, schools have not been added to the list for several months.
If the Department is confident all contacts have been identified and contacted, and there is no risk to the public, the site will not be added to the list.
Authorities have said there can be delays in positive cases admitting where they’ve been – something that’s also been stated by contact tracers in social media forums – which means some sites take longer to be identified.
As well, if a positive case is too sick to be interviewed, their whereabouts will be unknown until an interview can be conducted.
The Department also backdates exposure periods by two days for positive cases – counting back 48 hours from the onset of symptoms – when it identifies exposure sites.
For more information on exposure sites, vaccination centre locations or where to get tested, visit coronavirus.vic.gov.au
The Arthur Wren Hall vaccination centre is open until Friday 8 October, from 9.30am-4pm, and is located on Stuart Avenue, Hampton Park.
