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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 545 asked in the Legislative Assembly on 16 September 2021 by Mrs J.M.C. Stojkovski

Parliament: 41 Session: 1

CORONAVIRUS — VACCINATIONS — ELIGIBILITY

545. Mrs J.M.C. STOJKOVSKI to the Minister for Health:

I refer to the McGowan Labor government's commitment to getting as many eligible Western Australians vaccinated as quickly as possible. Can the minister update the house on changes to eligibility for the vaccine, as well as the rollout of vaccinations in regional and remote parts of the state?

Mr R.H. COOK replied:

I would like to thank the member for the question and I thank her for her support for health initiatives everywhere, but in particular the vaccination program. We have been saying that we want everyone to roll up for WA. People should get themselves vaccinated against COVID-19 because that is the only way we are ever going to be able to get out of the global pandemic. The Premier and I made an announcement earlier this week that people over the age of 60 will be eligible for the Pfizer vaccine from Monday. I am very pleased to say that because we are now confident of our Pfizer supplies, we will make Pfizer available first thing tomorrow morning to everyone over the age of 12 years, bringing forward the eligibility for the 60-plus age group. We are making more slots available and our clinics are ready to roll, whether people go to the Claremont, Joondalup or Midland clinics, plus we have more slots becoming available in Kwinana and the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre. More than 50 000 appointments will be available in the next six weeks.

We are urging everyone to roll up for WA and make sure that they get their vaccine. They are eligible for any of the vaccines if they are aged over 12. For those who were part of the previous Pfizer eligibility, the good news—I hear this from the member for Riverton—is that Pfizer is starting to roll out to the GP clinics, and will be available from Monday. But people in the 60-plus category who want the Pfizer vaccine will have to go to one of the state vaccination centres.

In addition, we are putting effort into our regional and remote communities. Tomorrow, I will travel to Tom Price to visit the new COVID-19 vaccination clinic that has been set up to boost the vaccination rates in the Pilbara. The Tom Price clinic, along with another in Paraburdoo, is part of a joint effort by the McGowan government, the WA Country Health Service, Rio Tinto and the Shire of Ashburton. It does not matter if all the mineworkers can be vaccinated if the communities in which they operate are not vaccinated. We would like to thank Rio Tinto for its efforts to look after not only its workforce, but also the communities in which it operates. We are having conversations with other large mining companies about how we can continue to roll out this program in other parts of Western Australia.

People can book their appointments on rollup.wa.gov.au and walk-ins are also welcome. The Tom Price community vaccination clinic will run from 17 September to 21 September at the Tom Price Community Resource Centre at Central Road, which will be open from 9.00 am to 6.00 pm, and the Paraburdoo clinic will open on 23 September at the Ashburton Hall in Ashburton Avenue. I would like to remind everyone that although we are very lucky in Western Australia and have no COVID in our community at the moment, I do not want people to be complacent. New South Wales has seen more than 40 000 cases of COVID-19 and, tragically, 200 deaths. That is our future if we do not choose to vaccinate now. It is important that people roll up for WA. We want people to protect themselves, their family and their communities. As I said today: do not procrastinate, just vaccinate. Get yourself vaccinated. Roll up for WA and protect everyone in the community.