Mad rush for COVID vaccine at Royal Exhibition Building

By Ellen Blake

Melburnians have flocked to the Royal Exhibition Building’s mass vaccination hub in light of Victoria’s fourth COVID lockdown.

Eligibility for the jab has widened to those above 40 and the federal government has allocated an additional 130,000 Pfizer vaccines to the state.

The Department of Health’s website showed the wait time for the Royal Exhibition Building had ballooned to three hours.

The high demand for the vaccine is in sharp contrast to the low numbers which were previously seen at the hub prior to lockdown.

The federal government has been criticised for a sluggish vaccination rollout, with its $40 million vaccination campaign failing to ignite an uptake in recipients. 

As of June 1, only 494,037 vaccine doses had been administered in Victoria.

Prior to lockdown, a nurse at the Royal Exhibition Building vaccination hub told the Guardian Australia she had administered just one vaccine in the course of an eight-hour shift.

The nurse attributed the low numbers to the centre being poorly advertised, fears about the AstraZeneca vaccine and complacency towards vaccination due to low COVID cases.

A recent survey found nearly one-third of Australians were unlikely to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

The survey found vaccine complacency and hesitancy, and entrenched concerns about AstraZeneca. 

Local resident Elise Fraser, who received her first jab at the Royal Exhibition Building, said she had “no reservations” about receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine.

“I was always going to get it, I wasn’t going to die from coronavirus,” Ms Fraser said.

“The process was very efficient. It wasn’t busy, it only took 25 to 30 minutes.”

In contrast, resident John Thurman, who received his first dose of the vaccine, said he was “a little hesitant” in getting the vaccination.

“I probably would’ve waited for the Pfizer [vaccine], but it seemed like it was a while away,” Mr Thurman said.

“But for me, the benefits outweighed the risks as I had no other health conditions.” •

To book your vaccine: coronavirus.vic.gov.au