NO EXCUSES NOW, SAYS MAYOR

WHEN the state vaccination clinic rolls into Sheffield on Friday and Saturday, the mayor’s message to the people of Kentish is clear.

“For those who have put off getting the vaccination because they didn’t want to travel outside the community and wanted to get the Pfizer, there’s no excuse now, it’s coming into town,” said Kentish Mayor Tim Wilson (inset).

Kentish is Tasmania’s lowest vaccinated municipality with latest figures showing 63.3 per cent of residents having had their first dose while only 42.8 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Until Friday, the Kentish municipality has only had AstraZeneca available for over 60s with those younger, or those wanting Pfizer, needing to travel out of area to get their Covid-19 vaccination.

Neville Barmby, who lives just outside Sheffield, said he got his two AstraZeneca shots with ease but his wife needed Pfizer and would have had to travel to Launceston to get it – a two-hour round trip.

“I was a bit apprehensive at first but I got it,” he said. “(I think) people in general probably wanted a lot of other people to try it first.

“Another thing they think is ‘we’re pretty safe over here’ but you wouldn’t want it to be like Victoria or NSW would you?”

Mr Wilson struggled to put his finger on exactly why the vaccination rates were so low among his constituents but guessed hesitancy, distance and complacency played a role.

“I know this guy who had all his vaccinations over his life but has baulked on this one,” he said.

“You’ve got a whole group of people – the reluctant – and they aren’t anti-vaxxers necessarily, and some of those are but they’re probably going to wait until that very last minute.

“We’ve only had AZ available here for 60 plus … a few people have died from that and people only read the headline … it scares them.

“We’re fairly spread out around here so if you want to get the Pfizer, you head somewhere else and some people just don’t like travelling. I reckon there’s a fair bit of complacency too.

“We’re certainly not going to see 100 per cent of people vaccinated.”

Despite this, Mr Wilson said he expected the rates to spike with Pfizer now available in Kentish. He was confident the Delta strain would reach our shores.