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Moderna COVID-19 vaccines available at Geraldton pharmacies from Wednesday

Michael RobertsGeraldton Guardian
Premier Mark McGowan with Pharmacy 194 owner Paul Buise and intern Marta Prasek
Camera IconPremier Mark McGowan with Pharmacy 194 owner Paul Buise and intern Marta Prasek Credit: Michael Roberts/Geraldton Guardian

Mid West residents can get the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at their local pharmacy from tomorrow, after doses of the jab starting arriving in regional WA last week.

Mark McGowan made the announcement in Geraldton on Friday morning, visiting Pharmacy 194 on Durlacher Street to spruik the new vaccination.

Pharmacy 194 will be one of 470 WA pharmacies to help roll out Moderna shots.

The Premier said, as of Friday, more than 55 per cent of the Mid West community had received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and a touch above 35 per cent were fully vaccinated.

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“We want to continue to improve those rates all over regional WA,” he said.

“Moderna is a proven, safe vaccine, just like the others.

“We need to get vaccines into people’s arms as quickly as possible so we can be as safe as possible if and when we get an outbreak in Western Australia.”

Mr McGowan said the State Government had been calling for pharmacies to be more involved in the national rollout for “a long time”.

“They are very trusted by the community,” he said.

Pharmacy 194 owner Paul Buise said wait times at pharmacies were relatively short.

“With AstraZeneca we try to book people in, but the vast majority have been walk-ins,” he said.

“Especially people who have been travelling through the State and requiring their second dose — we’ve been managing them in straight away. As soon as the stocks have hit the shelf we’ve been able to roll it out.”

Mr Buise said many people he had talked to were waiting for the Moderna jab.

To find a WA pharmacy offering the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, you can visit the Australian Government’s Vaccine Clinic Finder.

WA Master Builders Association Executive Director John Gelavis.
Camera IconWA Master Builders Association Executive Director John Gelavis. Credit: Jackson Flindell/The West Australian

The news came on the same day the WA branch of the Master Builders Association voiced concerns over making COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for its workforce.

Victoria’s hardline stance on mandatory vaccinations for all construction workers sparked days of violent protests in the Melbourne CBD.

Master Builders WA executive director John Gelavis told The West Australian that building companies should be left to set their own vaccine policies.

But Mr McGowan said he wouldn’t rule out following Victoria’s lead.

“What Melbourne has shown is that if you get an outbreak it can heavily spread through that workforce so we aren’t ruling it out,” he said.

“We are taking advice on it. The way to avoid being mandated is for everyone to go and get vaccinated.

“We are going to look at other areas of the workforce, in particular the mining workforce as soon as we can.”

The WA Government later announced that freight, transport and logistics workers must have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by late October to enter Western Australia from “high” or “extreme” risk jurisdictions

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