The Maryborough District Health Service (MDHS) will be closing its COVID vaccination clinic at the Community Hub next week thanks to the strong uptake of the vaccine by the community.

In excess of 95 percent of residents aged 15 and over in the Central Goldfields Shire have received their first and second doses of the vaccine, and MDHS have confirmed the up-take for 12 to 14-year-olds has been strong.

Thanks to that effort, the clinic is now ready to close on Friday, December 17, and MDHS director of clinical and quality services Wendy Giddings thanked the community.

“The Community Vaccination Hub was set up by MDHS in March, in partnership with Central Goldfields Shire Council and local GPs, to roll out the local COVID-19 vaccination program smoothly,” she said.

“Since then we’ve seen people of all ages roll up their sleeves to receive the vaccine as they became eligible, including a keen response from young people aged 12 years and over.

“We would like to thank everyone who helped our community in the Central Goldfields and Pyrenees shires exceed a 95 percent double dose vaccination rate by the end of November.

“We’ve seen amazing team work from staff from areas such as nursing, infection control, pharmacy, administration and customer experience to keep the clinic running smoothly and with the greatest of care, while managing the demand with available vaccine supply.”

Across the state, as of the latest data on Wednesday, 94.1 percent of Victorians aged 12 and over have now had at least one dose of the vaccine and 91.6 percent have had two doses.

Booster shots are required six months after your initial vaccination and following the closure of the hub, boosters will be available from GP clinics and pharmacies.

Anyone who can get vaccinated or needs a booster is urged to do so before the hub closes next Friday.

To book your vaccination call 5461-0300 between 8.30 am and 5 pm weekdays.

MDHS noted health services are still waiting more information on the rollout of the vaccination program for children aged five to 11, with Pfizer recently receiving provisional approval for that age group.

The program is expected to start from January pending advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.