Revealed: Darling Downs town with 63 per cent of population vaccinated

A Darling Downs region with a population of little over 10,000 is leading the national Covid-19 vaccine rollout, with more than half of their population fully vaccinated.

A DARLING Downs town south of Toowoomba has defied all odds to lead the national vaccine rollout efforts, with 63 per cent of the population fully vaccinated.

Goondiwindi Regional Council mayor Lawrence Springborg said as a result of their recent super clinic, and due to the sheer number of people travelling to Toowoomba to be vaccinated, they were able to hit a majority of vaccinations very quickly.

“During the first round of the Pfizer Super Clinic, we were able to vaccinate nearly 1900 people from Goondiwindi alone. It’s a really fantastic achievement from our community,” the Mayor said.

“Once you take into account the number of people who are partially vaccinated with one dose only, and those who may have accessed the vaccine outside of the region, this is a tremendous effort.

“Vaccination is one of the very best defences we have against this virus, and I’m extremely happy to see how well it has been adopted locally.”

Goondiwindi Hospital director of nursing Allison Cilento.

Mr Springborg said being a border community, the region was considered high-risk.

As cases surge in New South Wales, the border town remains on alert, despite border closures between the state and Queensland.

“The Darling Downs Queensland Health team and local medical professionals are to be commended on their commitment to regional towns,” Mr Springborg said.

“Fortunately for us, any local who is still seeking a vaccine, including the 16 to 40 year olds, Darling Downs Health continues to provide opportunities for our residents to access the Pfizer vaccine.”

A similar vaccination hub in Stanthorpe presented equally as impressive numbers, with residents from across the Southern Downs making their way to the Stanthorpe Showgrounds this week.

More than a 10th of the population in Stanthorpe received their first dose, marking an important continuation of the rollout on the Darling Downs.

Queensland recorded 11 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, 10 of them linked to the Indooroopilly school cluster and picked up in home quarantine.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has described the result as “more good news” and said the state would reopen the border with South Australia, but only for flights because of concern about the situation in Sydney.