By Danielle Kutchel
The mass vaccination hub at Cranbourne Turf Club is a hive of activity: bustling, cheerful nurses and bright-eyed patients, ready to do their bit to help us get out of the Covid pandemic that’s upturned our lives.
There’s a steady stream of people flowing through the doors for their appointments, and since the government opened eligibility to Pfizer for people aged 16-30, plenty of younger faces have joined the queue.
In fact, across Monash Health’s nine vaccination sites, 38,524 people aged between 18 and 39 booked in between 9 August and 31 August.
Some come in on their own, some come in with their partner or parents.
All of them have one thing in mind: getting out of lockdown and getting these vaccinations done.
For Clyde resident Natasha, getting the vaccine is an altruistic thing.
“I work with children with additional needs and I don’t want to put them at risk,” she said.
“This Delta variant is pretty scary stuff.
“If you don’t want your siblings to get sick, if you work with children, if you don’t want to put anyone at risk, you might as well get the vaccine.”
Her parents are fully vaccinated so she was confident that Pfizer would work for her and booked in as soon as she could.
She believes the prospect of travelling again will be a key carrot for young people now that vaccines are available to them.
“I think a lot of people my age want to do it for the travel,” she mused.
Imasha and Shehan from Clyde North seized the opportunity to get their vaccinations done together – almost like a cheap date, they laughed.
They had some website issues while booking in but were happy to receive confirmation of their Pfizer appointments.
They’re getting vaccinated to protect their ageing parents and the rest of their family.
“This is for our family and the community,” Imasha said.
“We don’t want to be sorry later, so we had better get it done now.”
Shehan encouraged other young people to roll up their sleeves as soon as they could.
“Do what’s right for the community, be responsible.”
Imasha finished the sentence: “So we can all go back to our normal lives sooner rather than later.”
Liam travelled from Aspendale with his mum to get his shot of Pfizer, and he too feels he is doing his bit for the community.
“As soon as I saw I was eligible to get it I really wanted to, especially with all these lockdowns – I want to contribute to helping with immunity in Victoria,” Liam explained.
“I think everyone who is eligible to get the vaccine should get the vaccine.”
The teenager said he got lucky when booking through the State Government’s website and found a spare appointment to book into the day after the expanded eligibility was announced.
Asked what he’s most looking forward to doing after restrictions ease, he said, with longing in his voice, that he’s keen to get out and see his friends in person again.
“Seeing them in person will be a really nice change.”
Another couple doing the double-shot date were Adam, from Berwick, and Taylor from Narre Warren South.
They called the booking hotline and said the process was “pretty smooth”.
They were ready to go the moment they were told they were now able to get the vaccine.
Taylor said she was keen to “get out of lockdown and return to normal life”.
“I think getting the vaccination is a step towards that,” she said.
“I’m more nervous about the needle itself, not the contents. I don’t like needles!” Adam said.
“But you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do.”
They encouraged others aged under 30 to have faith in the work of the world’s scientists.
“Trust science, trust the government. There’s a lot of stuff on social that you read, but not everything on social media is true,” Adam said.
“Trust science and trust the facts,” Taylor added.
“Just do your bit and get vaccinated.”
