Thursday, 28 October 2021

 Ms HALFPENNY (Thomastown) (18:22): (6125) I would like to raise a matter with the Minister for Health, and the action I seek is that the minister visit the community health centre in the Thomastown electorate, DPV Health, to acknowledge the hard work and the commitment and dedication of the staff and contractors that have been at the centre of the state government rollout of the COVID vaccine in the area.

We started off very poorly, with something like 15 to 20 per cent of eligible people vaccinated probably only a month ago. One of the main reasons was because the Prime Minister refused to authorise doctors in our area to administer the COVID vaccine, instead sending all the precious vaccine across to the other side of town. However, since the supply has increased DPV Health and the staff there have done a fantastic job in making sure that people have proper access to vaccination. Sometimes people may say the low rates of vaccination were due to people not wanting it or being hesitant, but I think the work that they have done—something like 80 per cent of people have now had a first dose of the vaccine—shows that it was not about hesitancy, it was in fact about a lack of access.

We have been able to, through the state government coordination with DPV Health and also Northern Health, make sure that people are able to get vaccinations very close by. Most people have been walking in because they have had difficulties with booking online, but it is great to see the community effort in making sure that people all have equal access. They can get it where they live, where they can get to. It would be great to see the minister down at DPV Health to celebrate and thank the staff for their achievements.