TOODYAY residents have started receiving their first free Covid-19 vaccinations at the Alma Beard Medical Centre in Stirling Terrace.
The local roll-out started on Tuesday March 30 with no adverse reactions reported in the first 50 doses administered.
Local resident Dennis Toop (pictured left) was first to receive an AstraZenica shot in Toodyay last month
The Wheatbelt Health Network said most patients experienced a mildly sore arm and slight 24-hour fever after receiving their first dose of the UK-developed vaccine.
The local roll-out is part of a national push to combat a global pandemic that has killed nearly three million people worldwide in the past 12 months, forced international lockdowns and plunged many countries – including Australia – into massive debt.
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Medical authorities say ‘herd immunity’ to end the pandemic can be achieved in Australia if more than 80 per cent of the population is vaccinated.
Toodyay is due to receive 50 doses of the vaccine every week, with plans to increase this number over time to immunise the more than 1200 eligible people – about a third of the shire’s population – during the first phase of the mass roll-out.
They include people aged over 70, emergency service volunteers, those with chronic disease and Aboriginal people older than 55.
Some GP clinics in other parts of the state have chosen not to administer the vaccine, resulting in increased demand in other GP medical centres.
The Wheatbelt Health Network says it will call all eligible Toodyay patients to offer them local Covid-19 shots as fresh doses arrive from Perth.
Bookings will be made in groups of 10 because each vial of the AstraZenica vaccine contains 10 doses.
The Toodyay clinic says it is balancing standard medical appointments with Covid-19 vaccinations to enable a doctor to be present when shots are administered.
The AstraZenica vaccine requires two doses to be given 12 weeks apart.
The local vaccination roll-out coincides with the start of WA’s annual flu season, for which separate shots are due to become available in Toodyay at the end of this month.
Covid-19 and flu vaccines need to be administered at least two weeks apart.
The Wheatbelt Health Network said people who didn’t want to wait for a local booking could contact Perth respiratory clinics that are providing dedicated immunisation programs.