November 15, 2021
A door-to-door approach for vaccinations appears to be paying off in Cherbourg.
The latest statistics released by the Federal Health Department show that Cherbourg’s first vaccination rate has climbed from 39.5 per cent a week ago (November 7) to 55.1 per cent (November 14).
Cherbourg’s second vaccination rate has also lifted – from just 27.2 per cent last week to 31 per cent.
Single and double-dose vaccination rates have also climbed in the South Burnett and all its neighbouring regions.
As of November 14, 81 per cent of South Burnett residents have had their first jab and 63.9 per cent are fully vaccinated.
These rates still trail Brisbane, but the gap between the capital and the regions is now narrowing.
Vaccination rates by Council area as at November 14:
- Cherbourg – 53.1 per cent (first dose) / 31.0 per cent (fully vaccinated)
- Gympie – 77.2 / 64.1
- North Burnett – 75.0 / 62.7
- Somerset – 80.1 / 66.2
- South Burnett – 81.0 / 63.9
- Toowoomba – 86.4 / 73.1
- Western Downs – 79.5 / 64.8
In comparison, Brisbane rates are 85.7 / 77.3.
I sure would not call these figures a roaring success considering all the huge effort put in to vaccinate the people of Cherbourg. Not to mention the big lockdown and shutout experienced in the early stages. One would have thought that this alone would have given the people of Cherbourg every reason to quickly get the jab when it came on stream.
First off we had the Queensland CHO poo-pooing AZ and showing extreme reluctance to recommend it. Then we had the Premier finding every excuse imaginable not to be inoculated (also her Cabinet showed reluctance) and it was only after the media dragged them kicking and screaming that they finally got the jab. Cripes those goings-on would almost deter anyone from getting vaccinated! It sure had me concerned! Many people do closely observe what their leaders are doing and make up their minds accordingly!
Now even with all the door-to-door work of the health providers I would call the 53.1 per cent (first dose) an abject failure.
By the way, I am fully vaccinated and with AZ. I will admit that I was very dubious but for a few reasons of visitation requirements I went ahead with the “what the heck” attitude; I have NOT suffered one side effect; not even a slightly sore arm and so far I am quite okay.
Now as more information from the real experts comes out with time it seems that AstraZeneca is and was the better choice by far. I now feel more relieved!
To be fair to the Chief Health Officer at the time, I believe her widely reported statement about Astra Zeneca was misinterpreted by just about everyone.
I watched that media conference in full. Dr Young was trying to discuss relative risks.
The risk at the time for older people to receive an AZ vaccination was almost nil. However, the younger you were, the higher the risk of a blood clot.
When there was no COVID at all circulating in the community, she judged the risk of an 18-year-old contracting COVID and dying was almost nil. However, the risk of an 18-year-old getting a blood clot from AZ, while still very tiny, was probably a greater risk.
That was the reason she was insisting AZ be only given to older people (as the Federal guidelines said, too).
You must remember, she is a doctor, not a professional communicator.
By the way, I am also fully vaccinated with AZ.
All praise to the Mater health workers. Thank you all.
I also was reluctant to get the AZ and wanted to hold out for Pfizer. When I heard that the Northern Territory government was making Pfizer available to all age groups and also that in Queensland many doses of Pfizer were being thrown out due to not being used before the expiry date, I had hopes that Qld government would follow the NT example. It didn’t happen, so I weighed up the risks and chose to get AZ rather than stay unprotected.
I don’t know what goes on now, but long ago I travelled extensively throughout Asia and Africa where many deadly diseases were rampant. It was the law back then that you had to have been inoculated for a range of those diseases before leaving Australia. You received a duly stamped WHO booklet to prove your status. In many cases, you were not permitted entry to a country unless you had that officially stamped booklet.
The mix of vaccines I received protected me fully. I had every confidence back then that they would.
The problem nowadays is that so many people doubt the proven science behind vaccines. They read something on social media and automatically consider it to be factual. Most of what they read is unproven, untested nonsense.
It’s okay to be sceptical of science but also be sceptical of what you read on social media.
I have to agree with the general sentiments expressed here. I’m double-vaxxed with Pfizer and beyond feeling sleepy for half a day after my 2nd vax, I’ve had no adverse effects at all.
What I’m getting fed up with, though, is the complacency that seems to have gripped parts of our region and the belligerence of the anti-vax brigade..
Let’s be clear on this: rural Queensland has had a dream run with the pandemic over the past two years. But once the borders open up, Delta will flood in and we’ll see some real COVID cases here not long after that. This will no doubt clean the supermarket shelves of toilet paper overnight, wake up the complacent ones and dramatically shrink the ranks of the anti-vax brigade (who are already a rapidly dwindling minority). But it won’t stop unvaxxed people getting very, very sick and a few dying.
I applaud the Government for imposing restrictions on the unvaxxed when we open up, and decry the handful of local businesses who proclaim they won’t discriminate between vaxxed and unvaxxed customers. Like most vaccinated people (ie. the 80% majority), I certainly won’t be patronising them.
I will be forever curious about why people in the “I will not be vaccinated corner” oppose the option of receiving the vaccine on the basis of human rights, or freedom of choice?
Isn’t “human rights” a thing between 2 humans? As the virus is not a human, it cannot hear or understand human rights objections or logic. How can it be opposed on the basis of human logic or “rights” is a question I ask myself every day. I still don’t have an answer from the oversharing of illogical information on social media!
My doctor though, was very straight forward with genuine advice on the options. Just like measles, mumps, polio, hepatitis, HIV, cervical cancer, tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough, flu or other vaccines that we accept to protect us, they to do not understand “human rights or freedom to choose”, but we accept that they protect us and those we love and care for from extreme suffering. I willingly lined up a year ago to receive the whooping cough vaccine to protect a dearly welcomed grandchild. I didn’t see any difference with the COVID vaccine.
I’m grateful my parents insisted I take the polio medication as a child, because it wasn’t until I was in my late 20s that I worked with someone who wasn’t so fortunate as me to escape polio. Pain and suffering I am grateful to have never experienced.
I remain grateful for the brilliance of medical progress and research in times like this, and even though I was disappointed I didn’t get any free or new software (social media suggested!) after my COVID vaccination, I rest easier knowing that the health of those around me is as equally important as my own.
I guess that’s why our grandparents signed up for war knowing that 80-100 years ahead we would be free to have this silly argument about vaccines and human rights and choices!
Now that there has been a big border change I wonder how some areas that are vaccine short will fare. Cherbourg is currently under 50% – the community will be understandably nervous.
Anne Miller, you were being very generous with support of our Premier and her CHO in your comment. I did and still do believe that their extreme procrastination with the AZ is what has caused Qld to be far behind in the vaxx stakes.
Indeed, interesting times ahead and with concern.