Not all heroes wear capes at the Shepparton Showground vaccination hub, they wear PPE masks and - only on special occasions - some sport sparkly plastic tiaras.
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McIntosh Centre staff donned royal headwear on Monday, June 14, to add a bit of glitz and glamour to a day of work on the Queen’s birthday, and to celebrate reaching GV Health’s milestone of administering 20,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines.
Immuniser Paul O’Brien said many visitors to the hub saw the public holiday as a perfect opportunity to take their turn to be vaccinated, if eligible, and he was looking forward to hitting bigger targets.
“I look forward to 50,000 doses, and we get better and better every week,” he said.
“It’s important we get more people through the door - the more the merrier!”
Administrator Jake Heggart said he felt the gratitude of visitors from across the Goulburn Valley from the moment they stepped through the front door.
“I’ve been congratulated on the front desk, before they’ve even had their vaccine,” he said.
Immuniser Garry Singh concurred, adding that some visitors came on their birthdays as a free gift to themselves.
Yarrawonga tradesman Rob Clarke, 45, drove over an hour on his day off to have his first dose, and said he had been waiting for a chance to fit a vaccine appointment around his busy schedule.
“I’m a footy umpire, so Saturdays are no good,” he said.
“I came two weeks ago when community sport was cancelled but it was closed.”
Determined to have his first dose, Mr Clarke made sure the Shepparton Showgrounds was open by checking GV Health’s Facebook on his second attempt.
He said he didn’t mind which vaccine he received, he was “open to anything” after hearing respected science communicator Dr Karl Kruszelnicki debunk myths about alleged health risks.
Maxwell Britt, 78, said he was a “handcuffed volunteer” to receive the vaccine, after his wife Lyn “ordered” him to have it.
He said he was initially hesitant to have the jab, and it was after seeing that Mrs Britt had no trouble with her AstraZeneca inoculation that he felt ready to receive his own.
A comprehensive chat with staff at the McIntosh Centre who explained the process steeled his resolve.
“It was absolutely worthwhile just for the talk, even without the vaccine,” he said.
After hearing more about Mr Britt’s medical history, McIntosh Centre staff decided the Pfizer vaccine was the most suitable for Mr Britt.
He said he would have taken whatever he was offered.
Kaj Jensen, 75, had been thinking about getting the vaccine for a while when he visited the showgrounds with his eight-year-old grandson George to keep him company.
“We were going to get haircuts but it was closed,” he said.
So Mr Jensen decided to walk into the McIntosh Centre for a vaccine instead.
“I think with the latest outbreak everyone has woken up a bit,” he said.
The whole process was out of the way before 11 am, meaning there were plenty of hours of daylight left for George to enjoy the time off school with grandad.
Although Marcus Daniel, 42, had heard stories of long wait times in recent weeks, he said he had no such trouble on the public holiday.
Mr Daniel said he paid a visit to the McIntosh Centre as a walk-in on Monday for convenience and to save time.
“The hotline was difficult to get through,” he said.
“My wife saw on Facebook that it was open today.”
Registered nurse Stephanie Down said her busy workplace was constantly making changes to improve its service and streamline processes, and a new bid to go paperless would make their operation more sustainable.
She encouraged people having trouble with the booking hotline to check GV Health’s Facebook regarding wait times, and visit the showgrounds as a walk-in if they were eligible and able.
Mr Singh said people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds were supported with information booklets in languages other than English, and while interpreter services were available, visitors were welcome to bring a friend or family member to help translate.
Mr O’Brien said teams of immunisers that made trips from Shepparton to regional towns recently - including Alexandra, Yea, Tatura and Numurkah - were well received by communities who would otherwise encounter wait times looking for an appointment with a general practitioner.
“Some people are so excited, the community has really embraced it as a whole,” he said.