First Gippslanders receive COVID-19 vaccine

“That was nothing,” Lyrebird Village resident Roelofje De Riter reported after being one of the first Gippslanders to receive the COVID-19 vaccine last Tuesday.

The resident was first in line at the aged care facility in Drouin.

Lyrebird Village chief executive officer Bill Baker said “a vast majority” of its 112 residents had elected to receive the vaccination, whilst “only a handful have chosen not to”.  

“We’ve been very pleased.  It’s a great opportunity for, hopefully, the start of the end and to protect the most vulnerable residents we’ve got,” said Mr Baker.  “It’s really a credit to the residents; they want to do their part.”

Rosa Salce, who was second in line said she understood the need and was keen to do her bit.

“If you’ve got to have them, you’ve got to have them,” said Rosa.

Needing to be stored and transported at -70 degrees, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine batch arrived at 8.30am, along with a team of three nurses to administer the injections.  

As residents queued, the first vaccine was delivered at about 10.30am.  Administering the injection to groups of 12 residents at a time, the process continued well into the afternoon.

Mr Baker said there was excitement that Lyrebird Village residents were included in the first rollout, making them some of the first in Gippsland to receive the vaccine as they seek to put 2020 behind them.

Residents will receive a second injection in two weeks – 21 days after the initial shot.  Staff will be vaccinated later.

The COVID-19 vaccination program was rolled out across Australia on February 22 and firstly offered to people most at risk.  

The initial priority groups to receive the 60,000 vaccine doses include aged and disability care residents and workers, frontline health workers, and quarantine and border workers.

Private aged care facilities operating under the federal government are included in the first rollout.  Aged care residents in public facilities, including the West Gippsland Healthcare Group’s Andrews

House and Cooinda Lodge, are expected to receive the vaccination soon.

The rollout came 13 months since the first diagnosed COVID-19 case in Australia.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the government had a comprehensive plan to offer COVID-19 vaccines to all Australians by the end of October 2021.

The Pfizer vaccine was the first COVID-19 vaccine approved for use in Australia by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).  The AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine also has been approved.