Oliver Lees
Hume and Macedon Ranges councils won’t be following in the footsteps of a south-east Victorian council offering incentives to residents who vaccinate themselves against COVID-19.
Earlier this month, Bass Coast council launched its #VaxForBass campaign in a bid to become the first municipality with an 80 per cent vaccination rate among eligible adults.
The campaign will reward willing jab recipients with goodies such as free movie passes and takeaway food from participating businesses.
Macedon Ranges council chief executive Bernie O’Sullivan said it was important for local government to play a part in reducing vaccine hesitancy, but not through financial incentives.
“Our best incentive to get vaccinated is keeping ourselves, our loved ones and our community safe” Mr O’Sullivan said.
“Council has also joined forces with other health and community services across the Macedon Ranges, and Hepburn Shire, to develop a COVID-19 vaccination campaign under the banner ‘Get the Jab Done’.
“The more people vaccinated, the greater the protection our shires and local communities will have against COVID-19.”
Mr O’Sullivan cited data released by the federal government in August, which “demonstrate [vaccine] uptake in Bendigo and Ballarat region is quite good even without incentives in place”.
According to the vaccine data, Bendigo had the highest rate of people aged 15 and over who had received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, at 52.6 per cent.
Melbourne’s north-west region was revealed to have the state’s lowest rate of COVID-19 vaccination, with 34.7 per cent of people aged 15 and over having received one dose.
As of Friday, there were 69 active cases in the Hume council area and none in the Macedon Ranges.
Hume council community services director Hector Gaston said council had been focused on improving health literacy.
“One of the ways we have done this is by employing bicultural officers who are supporting culturally diverse communities through targeted community engagement in languages other than English,” he said.
“Council has also been advocating strongly to the Australian and Victorian governments for a more targeted approach to the vaccine program to respond to local needs, ensure our residents have access to the vaccine and to put an end to misinformation and frustration in our community.”
For more information on COVID-19 vaccines, visit: bit.ly/3kqe996
