Coffs Harbour’s walk-in vax hub proves a hit as youth look to travel

There were a few people with the f-word on their mind - flying - as they rocked up to a vaccination clinic open to any aged between 12 and 59.

Young people are already planning ahead for a life beyond restrictions as they join their older peers in getting the Covid jab.

There were plenty of young faces at Coffs Harbour’s walk-in vaccination hub at the C.ex Club as the Pfizer jab was offered to kids as young as 12.

The mood in the queue was split between enthusiasm and acceptance as many indicated they were putting aside reservations about the vaccine mandates.

Mullaway’s Kai Nudd decided to bite the bullet because he said it’s what he needed to do to.

“It’s just so I can go overseas basically,” he said.

“I am about to finish school and I want to go places.”

The 18-year-old said there was a “super diverse” range of views about the jab among people in his age group.

The vaccination rates of young people are slowly climbing but lag well behind the older age groups who were offered the vaccine from the beginning of the rollout.

Just 21 per cent of the population aged between 25 and 29 are double dosed, dropping to 8.4 per cent for 16 to 19-year-olds.

French national Ikkio Bernard said she had debated getting the jab with others and at the start of the pandemic was outright resistant to it.

However, Ms Bernard felt Australia was headed in the same direction as her home country, where being vaccinated was a prerequisite to participating in many everyday activities.

Ikkio Bernard is a French national living on the Coffs Coast who received her first Pfizer jab at the walk-in vaccination clinic at C.ex Club, Coffs Harbour. Photo: Tim Jarrett

That included flying home hassle-free.

“It may sound dumb but I am getting vaccinated to make my life easier,” she said.

Despite her initial hesitancy, Ms Bernard reflected on the “well organised” walk-in clinic and felt lucky to have vaccine access, unlike many other countries which were being severely impacted by the virus.

As of September 27, Coffs Harbour’s first dose vaccination rate sits at 78 per cent, with the neighbouring council areas of Bellingen and the Clarence Valley on 79 per cent.

Both Coffs Harbour and the Clarence Valley’s second dose rate sits at 46 per cent and Bellingen a little ahead on 53 per cent.

Meanwhile, Coffs Harbour’s Nada Ali said she was getting the vaccine because she worked in a customer service role.

Nada Ali was at the Mid North Coast Health District's walk-in vaccination hub at C.ex Coffs Harbour. Ms Ali said it was good to be able to avoid the waiting lists with the new clinic. Picture: Tim Jarrett

She said the walk in clinic was a great idea and was happy to be able to avoid the waiting lists.

Ms Ali’s message to the rest of the community was pretty clear.

“Get vaccinated so we can get out (of this),” she said.

Ms Ali said she had seen first hand the diverse opinions and approaches to the public health orders.

They varied from dismissive through to the very cautious.

Small businesses and retail staff have been responsible for enforcing the ever changing health directives and in August Mel Winkler posted a heartfelt plea to the community reminding everyone they were “not the police”. 

Her comments struck a chord with many retail workers who were left exhausted by having to constantly argue the point with customers who took issue with government mandates.

Elsewhere, the owner of Coffs Harbour Cafe Salute Espresso triggered intense debate after indicating the small business would not turn away unvaccinated customers once vaccine mandates were triggered.