What you need to know about getting COVID-19 vaccine on Gold Coast
Tens of thousands more Gold Coasters have recently become eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. But many people have questions about getting the jab. Here's what they need to know, writes Keith Woods.
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THERE’S a bold blue sign by the door of the Covid-19 Vaccination Centre at Gold Coast University Hospital that neatly captures the mood inside.
“Keep calm and get vaccinated,” it reads.
It’s the perfect backdrop for the hundreds calmly lining up, waiting their turn to roll up their sleeves and do their bit for themselves, their family and their community.
The difference vaccination has been making around the world is extraordinary.
In Brazil, a small town called Serrana has become an interesting test case, seeing a massive drop in Covid cases after most of the adult population got the jab.
When 95 per cent of adults were fully vaccinated, deaths fell by 95 per cent, hospitalisations by 86 per cent and symptomatic cases by 80 per cent.
In countries where vaccination rates are high, such as the USA and United Kingdom, the number of cases and hospitalisations have also been massively reduced from their recent highs.
It is a joyous moment for much of the world, with safe and effective vaccination putting light at the end of the pandemic tunnel.
On the Gold Coast, we are getting to share that joy, with the vaccine available since the middle of last week to anyone over the age of 40. Your columnist was one of the first of his cohort to line up for the jab. Here’s what he found.
1. Booking is easy
All your columnist had to do was jump on the Queensland Health website and fill out a short form to register for a Covid-19 vaccine. Within days an email arrived offering an appointment at either the Gold Coast University Hospital or Albert Waterways Community Centre in Broadbeach. Appointments were available at all hours of the day, seven days a week. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE
2. You won’t wait long
Forget images you may have seen on TV of lengthy queues. You were probably seeing pictures from Melbourne. My appointment was for 7.30pm last Wednesday. I walked out the doors, all done and dusted, at 8.30pm. This was despite the friendly staff apologising that they were “running behind”.
3. It doesn’t hurt
Your columnist is a touch like Jerry Seinfeld when it comes to these things. He is no fan of needles. Or blood. Or being interfered with in any way by strangers. He likes to subject staff to a constant stream of gibberish small talk to take his mind off the impending piercing of delicate skin. But honestly, I never saw nor felt that needle. Maybe we should stop calling this a “jab” – because you will not feel a thing.
4. After effects? Yes, there are a few
Your columnist’s left arm was ever so slightly sore the next day. The same as it would be after the flu shot, or any other vaccination. It was certainly not something that caused me any bother, and within 24 hours even that minor after-effect was gone. Your columnist did also notice a strange, warm and tingly sensation inside, reported by many vaccine recipients – that happy feeling of knowing you’ve done your bit for yourself, your family and your community.
5. You get a lollipop
Although there were no “ouchies” to report, lollipops were on offer for all the brave souls who had rolled their sleeves up. Your columnist didn’t even have to throw much of a tantrum to get one.
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There is one major cloud in our Covid-19 success story – and no, I don’t mean the one that hangs every winter over lockdown-weary Melbourne. Our success has bred complacency. While only five per cent of UK residents are vaccine hesitant, surveys suggest the number here could be as high as a third.
Some may also have been influenced by the wild conspiracy theories being spread by uneducated crackpots on social media.
It would be a terrible shame if that saw us snatch defeat from the jaws of victory against this virus.
Luckily, thousands of Gold Coasters have been lining up for the jab – 2061 got vaccinated at the hospital on Saturday and Sunday alone – suggesting take-up might be better than expected.
And why not? Getting the vaccine is quick, easy and pain-free.
As that wonderful blue sign tells us, there is every reason to “keep calm and get vaccinated”.
MAY 12: INCREDIBLE SURPRISE BEHIND GOLD COAST HOSPITAL DOOR
BEHIND a simple grey door at Gold Coast University Hospital, a surprise awaits.
Among the thousands of rooms at the giant Southport campus, this one is the most unexpected, most unique.
There are no beds. No expensive medical equipment. No machines that incessantly flash and beep.
But it’s still one of the most important places at the hospital.
For behind this door is a brightly coloured classroom, where despite their ailments, children go to school.
Teachers Alison Schubert, Michael Fogarty and teacher aide Meaghan Millership are full-time employees of Education Queensland. They work with children’s regular schools to ensure they don’t fall behind in their studies while they’re in hospital. The students don’t get marked absent.
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With a deeply welcoming, caring approach, they also provide something else just as valuable — a distraction from the worry of being in hospital which can prey on fearful young minds.
“We would have been lost without this place,” said Rebecca Monger, a mother of two children who have spent time at the hospital.
“They’re so in tune to schools and what they can do to help the kids not lose track.
“It brings them (the children) hope and resilience to get back into school.”
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Ms Monger said the benefits extended far beyond her children’s hospital stays. Her daughter Lucinda, when in Year 11, had been reluctant to return to regular lessons.
“I don’t think she’d have gone back to school if it wasn’t for these two,” Ms Monger said, pointing to Ms Schubert and Ms Millership. “They got her in the right mindset to want to get back into school. They kept her going.
“These two women are phenomenal.”
Zara Toms, 11, has cystic fibrosis. She has been a regular visitor to the hospital since she was two years old.
“She loves it,” mum Sue said. “It keeps her mind occupied. Every time she comes she makes new friends.”
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The classroom at Gold Coast University Hospital, which caters for approximately 380 students per year, is just one of 22 in Queensland’s hospital education program. There is another, with five staff, at Robina Hospital’s mental health service.
The biggest is the school at the Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane.
Given they must cater for students from every grade, many of whom have serious health issues, the staff involved need an incredible range of skills.
But – testament to a burning desire of teachers to help children who need it most – the service attracts some of the best educators Australia has to offer.
“We get lots of applicants,” executive principal Michelle Bond said. “Lots of people want to work in our program. So we really get to pick the best.
“The staff are phenomenal ... they’re very skilled. They personalise to what the child needs. So if you tell me you’re in Year 6, the teacher very quickly works out that they’re Year 4 level in maths, that’s what they get. We’re very proud of what our teachers do.”
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There is an elephant in the room. Something the teachers are not keen to talk about. The inevitable emotional toll. The need for incredible wells of strength.
“Sometimes it’s quite touching and emotional, some of the things they go through,” Ms Bond said. “So we’ve got people around and on the ground to be able to support staff in those difficult times.”
As the parents of children attending classes at Gold Coast University Hospital readily testify, there are also the good news stories. Thousands of them. The regulars who love coming back to the class. The children who get better and leave with cherished memories.
“Sometimes they’ll come back and bound through the corridors and come and see us, which is really, really beautiful,” Ms Bond said.
“It’s a funny thing but we often say we believe in fairytales because we say, lots of kids come through our doors, and we just believe in the happily ever after.”
Like the kids who come through that simple grey door at Gold Coast University Hospital, where a wonderful surprise awaits.
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