Victoria’s Wyndham City Council has called on the State Government to urgently provide a local COVID-19 vaccination hub for 18-39 year-olds.
Wyndham Mayor, Adele Hegedich (pictured) said that while the Government had ramped up access to vaccines for over 40s in recent days, the city’s young people had been ignored.
“Fifty-six percent of Wyndham’s 280,000 residents are under the age of 35 and, as the recent outbreak has demonstrated, they desperately need access to vaccinations,” Mayor Hegedich said.
“Currently the closest State-run vaccination hub is in Sunshine or Geelong. If you have young children, as many of our residents do, or you work in casual labour, hopping in your car to travel more than 30 minutes to get a vaccination is just a bridge too far.”
She said that since the beginning of the pandemic, Wyndham City had worked closely with Western Health and the State Government to advocate strongly for the needs of the community.
Recently, Wyndham City was successful in working with Western Health to open a seven-day State-run vaccination hub at the Civic Centre, but only for those aged over 40.
Mayor Hegedich said Council would write to the Premier and the Minister for Health asking for its share of the 150,000 Pfizer vaccinations allocated to the nine State-run hubs around Greater Melbourne announced by the Government on Sunday.
“This is a matter of equity and access,” Mayor Hegedich said.
“We cannot expect Wyndham residents to rush to get vaccinated when the majority of them have not been eligible and, now that they are, have to drive out of the municipality to receive it.”
“It is in the interests of the whole State and in fact the whole country for the State to prioritise access to the vaccine for our young Wyndham residents,” she said.
