By Oliver Lees
Residents in an aged care home in Sunbury are feeling a sense of relief, after receiving their first dose of the coronavirus vaccination almost a month behind schedule.
On Thursday, April 8 Japara Goonawarra Aged Care residents received the Pfizer jab as part of phase 1b of the federal government’s nationwide vaccination roll out.
The Sunbury home was one of the worst affected by the virus, with 130 cases and 20 COVID-related deaths, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Former Hume mayor Jack Ogilvie has been a resident since May last year and has been advocating for the centre to be prioritised in the roll out.
He said this time around he was satisfied with how the process was handled.
“It was very efficient,” Mr Ogilvie said last week.
“They arrived on time and with enough doses for everyone, so we’re all feeling very relieved.”
For Mr Ogilvie, a big part of that relief was seeing the vaccine actually arrive.
Japara Goonawarra Aged Care residents were scheduled to receive their first vaccine dose on March 9.
According to Mr Ogilvie, everything was ready to go. All residents were showered and ready at 8.45am and 15 extra staff were there to administer the jab, but the supply never arrived.
“We were all ready to go but they didn’t show up, it was incredibly frustrating” he said.
On top of the ongoing risk of contracting the coronavirus, Mr Ogilvie said residents’ concerns were compounded by the looming flu season and the fact they had delayed their flu vaccinations to take the COVID jab.
“We can’t have our flu vaccination until two weeks after our second COVID jab, that’s what has everybody worried,” he said.
In a regular year, Japara Goonawarra residents would take their flu vaccination in late March, but with their second COVID jab scheduled for April 29, that timeline is blown out until at least May.
Speaking on ABC Radio National last Friday, World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre deputy director Professor Ian Barr said there is currently “very little” influenza circulating in the population, but that could change quickly.
“It could be a very quiet or simply a delayed season,” Professor Barr said.
“Influenza can crop up at any time, so it’s best to be prepared.”
670,000 doses of the COVID vaccine had been handed out across the county by the end of March, about 3.3 million short of the federal government’s target announced in January.
