Healthy North Coast explains low vaccination rates in Coffs and Grafton
Coffs Harbour and Grafton residents face long queue for vaccine as Healthy North Coast offers possible explanation low vaccination rates.
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Coffs Harbour and Grafton’s comparatively low number of fully vaccinated residents could be down to the number of second doses being brought forward in Sydney.
That’s according to Healthy North Coast chief executive Julie Sturgess, who said while the region’s Covid-19 vaccination second-dose rate was lower than state and national averages, it was in line with other regional areas.
Healthy North Coast is the organisation responsible for the vaccine rollout between Port Macquarie and Tweed Heads.
“This discrepancy may be because in outbreak areas like Sydney, second doses of AstraZeneca are being brought forward,’ Ms Sturgess said.
“Locally, we’re continuing to see solid vaccination numbers as people realise the importance of protecting themselves, their loved ones and their communities,” she said.
The statement comes after the federal government released figures showing the Coffs Harbour/Grafton region had one of the lowest rates of fully vaccinated residents in the country.
Of the more than 85 regions nationally, Coffs Harbour/Grafton was the ninth worst with just 14.6 per cent of over-15s receiving their second dose of either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine.
Our nearest neighbours, Mid North Coast and Richmond – Tweed, both had higher rates at 17.5 and 17.2 per cent of people receiving their second dose respectively.
When it comes to first dose data Coffs Harbour/Grafton is doing considerably better, with 41.7 per cent of the population having one jab.
In Richmond Tweed that percentage is just 39.7 per cent and in the Mid North Coast 45.5 per cent.
Ms Sturgess also said the region was following national trends when it came to the Pfizer vaccine.
“There is strong demand for Pfizer vaccine, which at the moment is exceeding supply both locally and nationally, with up to 3 months waiting time,” she said.
“Come mid-September we should start to see an increase in the supply of the Pfizer.”
Meanwhile, the state government last week announced Pfizer doses that were redirected from regional NSW, including Coffs Harbour and Grafton, will be replaced from a batch of more than 180,000 extra doses for NSW.
The redistribution of Pfizer doses, specifically for year 12 high school students in Sydney, caused booking cancellations across the state and Coffs Harbour MP Gurmesh Singh said they would now be reinstated.
“People whose bookings were recently cancelled will be rebooked to ensure they are the first to receive the new doses,” Mr Singh said.
It has been a tense few weeks across the region after a positive case was confirmed as having visited Coffs Harbour in July, leading to a spike in testing.
That was followed by a Mid North Coast Local Health District revealing they had found traces of Covid-19 fragments in sewage samples taken from treatment plants at Coffs Harbour and Bonny Hills on August 2.
Subsequent tests have come back negative.
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