Vaccination News

On the coldest day of the year we had out last Drive-through Flu Clinics last Saturday. Over the last 5 weeks we have vaccinated over 1400 people against influenza and everything went to plan. No major reactions (no one had to toot their horn in the waiting carpark!) and by all reports people loved the efficient service.

A huge thanks go out to our helpers (you know who you are) because there is no way we could run it without your help. A special mention thanks to Riley Tudor – who probably had the hardest job in directing cars, scooters, pedestrians and even sightseers (true!) into the bus lane against the way the arrows went! Top job. And to the High School and Dean for setting us up each week and allowing us to use their grounds again-a big thanks.

We fortunately still have quite a lot of flu vaccines available, for those under 65 as privately funded, and for people with (certain) chronic diseases. It is the recommendation by the Health Department for all people to have a flu shot, for the only certainty is that this years flu season will be different to the last one. Book in now with our nurses at the Medical Centre.

The messaging around COVID vaccinations can be confusing and has contributed to some of the vaccine-hesitancy that unfortunately exists. One message should not be confused: get vaccinated as soon as you are eligible. Do your homework through health.gov.au and see the wealth of easy-to-read information there, including common question and answers. Go to Vaccine Eligibility and quickly this will lead to the link to booking a COVID shot in the Foster Respiratory Clinic through HotDocs on a Thursday. Or ring the clinic for an appointment. We are continuing to vaccinate about 200 people a week.