Geraldton shoppers line up for pot plants, snags and COVID jabs at Bunnings for vaccine blitz
Snags, pot plants and COVID-19 jabs were on Sunday agendas in Geraldton as residents rolled up their sleeves as part of WA’s Super Vax Weekend.
A pop-up vaccination clinic at Geraldton Bunnings was hailed as a big success, with nearly 200 people of varying ages and backgrounds lining up to get the jab.
WA Country Health Service Mid West regional director Rachele Ferrari said she was “blown away” by the number of people who turned up for a vaccination. “We had to head back to our clinic to get more vaccines on a number of occasions because it has been an overwhelming response from our community,” she said. “The easier we make this process, the more will turn up. The success of today will absolutely mean we look at not just a Saturday walk-in clinic at Geraldton, but Sundays too.
“This, to me, demonstrates opportunities outside business hours are what people want.”
On Friday, Premier Mark McGowan said WA would open up to the rest of Australia and the world when 90 per cent of residents aged 12 and over were fully vaccinated.
One of the 198 people vaccinated at the pop-up clinic was 12-year-old Alice Humbert.
She said she wanted to do her bit to protect the community.
“Now I can travel overseas if I get a second jab, and see family,” she said.
Fly-in, fly-out worker Emily Hipper, who received her second dose of the vaccine, said the Bunnings clinic was more convenient than booking a time during the week.
“We didn’t want to get sick during the week because we had work,” she said. “Sunday is easier, and we wanted to get a sausage.”
More than 15,500 people were vaccinated at State-run clinics across WA during Super Vax Weekend, up from about 13,800 the previous weekend.
But WA is still lagging behind the rest of the country when it comes to vaccination rates.
As of November 6, 66.5 per cent of WA’s population aged over 16 were fully vaccinated — the lowest figures of any State or Territory.
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