1909
VOL. 113
NO. 44
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WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 24, 2021
Footy school’s in
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PRICE $1.50 INC GST
• Grades 1 and 2 students in North-East schools have been getting a little extra-curricular tuition through the Footy in Schools program hosted by the Scottsdale Football Club and AFL Tasmania. Winnaleah pupils looking forward to their football class are: Kyle Baars, Christopher Makin, Axel Groves, Hudson Goninon, Lacey Singline, Aylah Harvey, Maya Groves, Indii Wagner, Ollie Starbright, Akira Boekelman and Jaylen Silver. MORE DETAILS OF THE PROGRAM ON PAGE 15.
JABS LAG CONCERN BY TONY SCOTT WITH three weeks till Tasmania’s borders reopen, concern has been raised about the level of Covid vaccinations in the North-East. The rate of vaccinations by local government area has Dorset almost 10 per cent behind the state average. Mayor Greg Howard is worried that unless there’s a pick-up in people rolling up their sleeves the area will be at big risk of a breakout of the virus. “Tasmania as a whole and more so we here in Dorset have been virtually unaffected by the virus, so people have become a bit blasé about the need for a jab. “I’m aware there are some in the community that are inclined to be anti-vaxers. “There are people who say it’s no worse than the flu, but that’s clearly not the case, and they’re often the people who don’t get a flu jab either. “Our older demographic, that’s more susceptible, is a real concern and needs to be protected.”
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Councillor Howard said he’d asked the State Government to consider extending the mobile vaccination clinics to Winnaleah and Scottsdale High Schools. “They generally don’t get as sick but younger people can catch Covid and they’re general close mixing means it can pass on to others quickly.
Unless there’s a pick-up in people rolling up their sleeves the area will be at big risk of a break-out of the virus. “In fact figures out of Canberra show the average age of new cases there is just seven years old.” Councillor Howard understood more than half of local 12 to 16 year olds have received a jab from either private or government clinics since they became eligible. But he said Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff had agreed to his request to see if a visit by the
mobile clinic could be organised. The State Government went further yesterday indicating the start for the next school year to allow for children aged five to 11 to be vaccinated. The Therapeutic Goods Administration is yet to approve a vaccine for use in that age group. However, Premier Peter Gutwein told State Parliament he understood parents' concerns, and assured that the Government would ensure all children aged five to 11 were able to be vaccinated before returning to school 2022. Mobile clinics providing the second dose of Pfizer vaccine will be in Bridport, Gladstone, Ringarooma and Winnaleah this week. Councillor Howard said about 200 people were treated during their first tour of the region. “When they get their second dose that will add about three per cent to those double vaccinated overall.” But he’s worried that percentage of a little more than 75 per cent last week was still
lagging behind the state’s double vaccinated rate of more than 84 per cent. The government is still hopeful of reaching a double vaccinated rate of 90 per cent before the borders open. “It would be good to get close to that rate in Dorset too,” Councillor Howard said. He said popular tourism places like Derby and Bridport were reporting bookings skyrocketing after mid December. “Even if people are immunised they can still have a high viral load and that could be deadly if they are coming to events like a wedding for instance. “Where you get a lot of people close together over a number of hours it would only take one carrier to infect 50 or 60 guests out of 100.” He said there was no intensive care unit at Scottsdale and he believed the Launceston unit could well be overwhelmed with a sudden big case load. Statistics showed that while vaccinated people could still be infected they were much less likely to become seriously ill.
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North East OPEN HOME 5 Mary Street, Scottsdale Saturday November 27, 2021 10am–10.30am Andrew Bennett M 0427 224 155
andrew.bennett@harcourts.com.au 24 King Street, Scottsdale