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Demand for COVID jab appointments rises as Mid West hits 25 per cent third-dose vaccination rate

Phoebe PinGeraldton Guardian
More people will become eligible for their third COVID jab on January 31. .
Camera IconMore people will become eligible for their third COVID jab on January 31. . Credit: Kelsey Reid/The West Australian

Just 25 per cent of Mid West residents have received their third COVID jab, but many will have to wait weeks for an appointment at fully booked vaccine clinics.

Premier Mark McGowan last week announced State borders would not reopen on February 5 as planned, with low booster shot rates attributed as a primary reason for the backflip.

Local third-dose statistics are slightly below the State and metropolitan vaccination rates of 29.2 per cent and 29.8 per cent respectively.

But Mid West GP Network deputy chair and Panaceum Medical GP Dr Richard Taylor said he is hopeful these figures will increase when the waiting period between second and third doses is reduced from four months to three months on Monday.

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“Hopefully there will be a high proportion of people eligible and able to get their vaccinations from January 31,” he said.

“The evidence is showing that it is that third dose which gives you that extra protection and coverage against Omicron.”

Dr Taylor said booking requests for booster shots at Panaceum Medical had risen since Mr McGowan’s border announcement last week, with the clinic now fully booked booked until next month.

“We are actually quite heavily booked. I was trying to fit someone into one of our vaccination clinics and I think the soonest available was about two weeks away,” he said.

Dr Taylor encouraged locals to schedule their third jab as soon as they become eligible, saying vaccination appointments may become scare in the event of widespread community transmission.

“If we are having to start to deal with managing COVID in the community, that takes up a reasonable amount of GP and nursing resources, so it may be that we don’t necessarily have the capacity to run the clinics like we are at the moment,” he said.

“We will try to keep them running but if we are resource poor or there is a big influx of people wanting to get vaccinated when we are starting to see cases, then it may be a bit tighter.

“You are better off preparing early, working out when you are due and pre-booking your slot.”

Dr Taylor said he understood the frustration over changing COVID mandates and restrictions, advising it would be unwise to postpone the reopening of State borders into the colder months.

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