Third jab, test clinic demand soars

Clinical leader at Castlemaine's busy COVID-19 drive through clinic, Bronwyn Grieve, yesterday morning. The car queue at the McGrath Street testing clinic stretched to the highway earlier this week while, on the other side of town, Castlemaine Health's vaccination clinic is also experiencing strong demand from hundreds keen to get their third jab. Photo: Eve Lamb

Eve Lamb

Castlemaine area locals are turning out in droves to get their third COVID jabs as the number of notified Omicron cases continue to snowball nation-wide.
At Castlemaine Health the on site vaccination clinic this week opened up extra vaccination booking options while currently administering jabs in arms to around 180 people each day – almost all of them third doses.
“We’re just being slammed at the moment by (people lining up for) boosters,” nurse unit manager Shelley Leathem told the Mail this week as the hospital also prepares for Wednesday which will be its first day of administering vaccinations for youngsters aged five to 11.
The local health service this week released a series of new vaccination appointments for January.
The new appointments are afternoon slots only and can be booked online via the Castlemaine Health website with the hospital also confirming that new appointments for February will be opened up over the coming weeks.
“Registrations are now also open for the five to 11 year-old age group,” Ms Leathem said.
Registration for these is via a link on the Castlemaine Health website.
“This link is hosted by Bendigo Health but you can select ‘Castlemaine Health’ as the clinic of choice when completing the form,” Ms Leathem said. Read more in today’s Mail…

Eve Lamb
Journalist and photographer Eve Lamb has a Bachelor of Arts (Journalism) degree from Deakin University and a Master of Arts (Professional Writing) from Deakin University. She has worked for many regional newspapers including the Hamilton Spectator and the Warrnambool Standard, and has also worked for metro daily, The Hobart Mercury, and The Sunday Tasmanian. Eve has also contributed to various magazines including Australian Cyclist.