Canberra is on track to be the first state or territory in Australia vaccinated against coronavirus.
The territory leads the nation in people with one COVID-19 vaccine dose at just under 54 per cent. With just under 30 per cent of ACT residents fully immunised, the capital narrowly trails Tasmania and the Northern Territory on that front.
The Canberra Times this week spoke to a range of Canberrans who had just received their COVID-19 vaccinations at the Garran Surge Centre - before the capital was plunged into a week-long lockdown - about the importance of the territory community coming together to protect its residents.
Peter Spalding
Age: 47
Occupation: Factory worker
Dose: 2nd
Why did you come to get vaccinated? So I can travel to Whistler as soon as possible to ride my mountain bike ... It got opened up so I registered - no use putting it off.
How is the vaccine rollout in Canberra going? I think it's been the easiest here than the rest of Australia, just due to not many people and everyone being spaced out, the way we live. We've definitely got away easy.
Anything else to add? It was super fast and very easy, it wasn't a hassle to do at all.
Shu Ping Jiang
Age: 59
Occupation: Studying to be a photographer
Dose: 2nd
Why did you come to get vaccinated?: I think it [will] help myself, and prevent getting the disease COVID-19. It's good for the community as well, I don't transfer [the] disease to other people, protect my family members ... It's a citizen's responsibility.
Anything to add? I hope more people should go for vaccination. We can put these things behind and let's move on.
Sandra Lee Walton
Age: 42
Occupation: Work in finance
Dose: 2nd
Why did you come to get vaccinated? I think it's important that everyone gets vaccinated for the community; for elders, for anyone vulnerable ... Because we do have vulnerable people in the family, everyone's pretty much on board ... I'm big believer in spreading that, I hope everyone gets the jab.
How is the vaccine rollout in Canberra going? "I think that we're a little bit more sensible than a lot of the other places ... At work, for example, a lot of them are already fully vaccinated. If not, they've had their first jab. I see people doing the right thing.
Hamish Anderson
Age: 50
Occupation: Public servant
Dose: 2nd
Why did you come to get vaccinated? I'm not an island ... I've got a family, we live in the community, I go to work and getting vaccinated helps out the community.
How is the vaccine rollout going in Canberra? I don't have much of a sense of that, although when I come here and see people getting vaccinated, it's happening very quickly. It's very efficient.
Jenny Watt
Age: 59
Occupation: Manages a small accounting business
Dose: 2nd
Why did you come to get vaccinated? I just think in today's society, we all need to step up and get vaccinated, if we want to move forward as one country, one nation, we just need to all get it done. In fact I think it should be mandatory.
Have you been speaking with friends and family about the vaccine? Most of our friends have all sort of booked in or have had one at least. Our kids are all dying to get theirs. So I think everyone in our near community is definitely eager to get them all done.
Viktoria Wagner
Age: 43
Occupation: Diplomat
Dose: 2nd
Why did you come to get vaccinated?: COVID-19 is a dangerous illness, and I want to protect myself, but I also want to protect the community.
How is the vaccine rollout going in Canberra? I'm from Europe, and obviously, the vaccine rollout is quicker there. So I think the Covid management in Australia is very good, but the vaccine rollout should have been maybe a bit faster. But yes, in Canberra, it seems to work quite quite well. When I had my first dose, I was a bit astonished about how empty it was here. But now it's busier, I'm confident that people are getting vaccinated.
Karen Lawler
Age: 53
Occupation: Public servant
Dose: 2nd
Why did you come to get vaccinated? I just want to be vaccinated so that I can support my community, my family - I have a granddaughter that's only little and I want to make sure that she's safe.
How is the vaccine rollout going in Canberra? I think it's going pretty well. I know a lot more people are motivated to hurry up and get things done. It's an investment in your future, essentially. And your family's future and the community's future. So, essential.
Jagdish Darji
Age: 30
Occupation: Support coordinator with disability organisations
Dose: 1st
Why did you come to get vaccinated?: I'm just trying to protect the people with whom I'm working, who are vulnerable in the community. People who do understand the importance of vaccination, they need to come out, and they need to urge people to come out and get vaccinated.
How is the vaccine rollout going in Canberra? I feel lucky in Canberra that we've got a good chance, we can get vaccinated as soon as possible.
Stephen Crisp
Age: 52
Occupation: Chief executive of Sheep Producers Australia
Dose: 2nd
Why did you come to get vaccinated? I just wanted to do it as soon as possible, because the sooner everyone gets done, the sooner we can just treat it like any other flu, and we can get back to normal.
Have you been speaking with friends and family about the vaccine? I've got reasonably elderly parents, so they were keen to get it done as soon as possible as well. And my wife works at the hospital next door, so she was keen to get done as soon as possible as well. So it's pretty much a no-brainer from our point-of-view.
Louise Sims
Age: 51
Occupation: Semi-retired
Dose: 1st
Why did you come to get vaccinated? Just [to] do the right thing, I think everybody should get done. The father-in-law is not well, so we do a lot of caring for them. And they've been vaccinated, but just to keep everyone safe.
Have you been speaking with friends and family about the vaccine? Yeah, I'm a full believer in it, I think everyone should get vaccinated.
Nicole Sadlier
Age: 45
Occupation: Work in health promotion in the community
Dose: 2nd
Why are you here? I love living a fit and healthy lifestyle, and I believe in preventive health. And so to me, it makes sense to do it for myself and the community. It's a very streamlined process to come in and it's very easy to get vaccinated,
Have you been speaking with friends and family about the vaccine? "I think it's something everyone's talking about now, and everyone's very positive about it.
How is the vaccine rollout going in Canberra? I think we're going wonderfully. We've got this great facility here at Garran. It's a very streamlined process to come in and it's very easy to get vaccinated.
Patrice Easton
Age: 52
Dose: 2nd
Occupation: Stay-at-home mum
Why did you come to get vaccinated?: My husband actually [convinced me]. I don't love needles and I'm certainly not looking forward to the after-effects. But look, it's for the greater good. We've got to do this, we've been so lucky in Canberra, and looking at the rest of the country - well, Victoria, NSW - just super grateful we're here. So whatever we can do to get our lives back. I'd love to be able to travel, my family's in New Zealand.
How is the vaccine rollout going in Canberra? "From what I can see, people are doing the right thing. The first time I was here, there were just loads of people coming through. It's been such a smooth process. Literally straight in, straight through - none of the queues you see in the other states.
