Welcome back folks to Connolly’s Corner! 

Eight months into the year at a time where we all expected life to be back to some resemblance of normal with the worst of this pandemic behind and everyone having had their jab.  That was before the highly infectious Delta spread to Victoria changing the game - we now need only look to New South Wales to see what underestimating this virus can do.  

As a result, the impact of lockdowns are now being felt by many who have been lucky to avoid the worst of the pandemic so far. People like my parents in Northern New South Wales, right on the border with Queensland, thankful for the example set by Victorians willing to go the hard yards necessary to suppress the virus wherever its ugly head appears.  

Our community in Wyndham has been on the front line of this crisis from the very beginning, more exposed doing work that needs to be done without, for many, the luxury of being able to work from home. They’re our transport and delivery drivers, aged care and childcare workers, healthcare workers and hospitality workers to name a few –and they’re the people that have kept Victoria moving.  

Thank you to everyone who has rolled up their sleeves and lined up to get the jab over the past few months - because at the end of the day that is what each and every one of us needs to do to end this crisis.  

With a mass supply in the millions of AstraZeneca doses made right here in Melbourne now ready to go and more Pfizer having just arrived, it is a race to get vaccinated as quickly as we can. 

I joined the thousands of Victorians rolling up their sleeves for my first dose of AstraZeneca as soon as they we’re made available for under 40’s. Some of my staff, who are all under 30, were even quicker to get in then me with only one out of the six of us receiving Pfizer, and all of us now having had a least one dose. 

Every Victorian over the age of 16 is now eligible for a vaccine at state-run vaccination centres. With the welcomed arrival of more Pfizer vaccine to Victoria, anyone aged 16 to 59 is now eligible for either Pfizer or AstraZeneca. Folks over the age of 60 will still continue to receive Astra Zeneca. Remember, the best vaccine is the one available to you today. Both vaccines are safe and effective.  

The closest state-run vaccination centre for Wyndham is now at Eagle Stadium in Werribee. You can book in for your jab at the indoor vax hub or do it from the comfort of your vehicle as part of the drive-thru site we’ve also set up at Eagle Stadium. You must book your appointment in by visiting coronavirus.vic.gov.au or by phoning the Coronavirus Hotline on 1800 675 398. 

Not all of us can work from home, but we can all get vaccinated – and getting the vaccine is our way out of this pandemic. Let’s get it done.