PLANNING a trip to one of the villages this week? Maybe grab a COVID jab while you're there.
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Or are you visiting the dam?
You could get a COVID jab there is well, or even at one of the mini pop-up clinics we've seen established at various locations across the city over the past few weeks.
COVID vaccines are rapidly becoming the new coffee; you can get them just about anywhere.
Not that that's a bad thing.
As the rate of first-dose COVID vaccination among the NSW adult population rises past 90 per cent - and even here in Bathurst we are well into the 80s - health officials are realising that the game is changing as they chase those final few valuable percentage points.
We must surely have reached point where every adult in the state who wants a COVID vaccination has had ample opportunity to get one.
We know that there is a percentage of the adult population - albeit a very small percentage - who have no plans to ever get vaccinated and there is also a small population who can't get jabbed for health or other reasons.
But that still leaves many, many thousands of people across the state who are not opposed to vaccination but, apparently, simply haven't got around to it - and that's why it's time for a rethink of the strategy.
Health authorities across the country are now moving from an approach of simply setting up a COVID vaccination clinic and waiting for the people to come in to actively going out into the community to chase down those last few percentage points.
In Queensland they have set up vaccination clinics at Bunnings outlets and during the NRL finals they set up outside Suncorp Stadium to jab fans on their way to the games. And why not?
Closer to home the Western NSW Local Health District has fitted out two mobile homes - affectionately named Jabba and Spike - as mobile vaccination clinics (pictured) and are heading out into the villages and even to Ben Chifley Dam this weekend.
It's a "whatever it takes" approach and it's one that highlights just how important every extra vaccination is to the safety of our communities.
There will always be those who steadfastly oppose vaccination but, for the rest, you're running out of excuses.
If you won't come to the clinic, the clinic will come to you.
What do you think?
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