Stories from the frontline: vaccinating a diverse, isolated community

There are three important steps to a successful vaccination program:

1.??????an adequate vaccine supply

2.??????the operational capacity to deliver the vaccine, and

3.??????the demand to be vaccinated.

In my new role with the Grampians Public Health Unit, I’m getting to assist in the challenge of supporting the vaccination of a diverse and spread-out community. Let’s look at it in more detail.

The road to Nhill

Nhill is located close to the Victorian/South Australian border. It has a population of around 1700, with the district adding a further 2000. It supports the local farming community and has a significant poultry processing centre.

Whilst the population may sound like it is homogeneous, it is not. The socio-demographic is quite mixed, from landowner farmers and general support services, to labourers and a vibrant Karenni population.

The local vaccination program has been ably delivered by a legendary infection control nurse. But even with her efforts the fully vaccinated population rates were lagging. So, planning went into a mass vaccination blitz for the town. This involved a fantastic collaboration between West Wimmera Health Service, Wimmera Healthcare Group, the Royal Flying Doctor Service, and the Grampians Public Health Unit.

For the vaccine blitz to succeed it needed a guaranteed supply; 1000 doses were secured. Not easy to do, as you have probably gathered from the headlines about vaccine distribution.

The next challenge has been to train and deploy staff in roles that largely didn’t exist prior to the pandemic. Then comes the setting up of the building and all the operational requirements to administer a vaccine safely and efficiently.

All that done, you then need to get the people in for their vaccinations. Whilst interest and demand in being vaccinated is high, it can still be challenging to line it all up. The target group was 12- to 59-year-olds, while the over 60s were directed to the GP service in the town. This diverse group created challenges on gaining their attention and navigating the pathway towards getting an appointment. All these were considered, and an evaluation of what worked and what needs improvement for future programs was undertaken.

At the end of three days, they have vaccinated over 400 people. Let’s see how the next days go!

Remember, every vaccinated person is another person who will not be admitted to hospital from COVID-19, which reduces the pressure on the health system. Every vaccination counts.