West Melbourne opens new vaccine clinic

Community health service provider Cohealth has joined the national COVID-19 vaccine rollout by opening a clinic in West Melbourne in March as part of an effort to vaccinate vulnerable community members.

The not-for-profit organisation is working to help people in public housing, those from culturally diverse backgrounds, people with mental health issues and those experiencing homelessness to access to the vaccine.

From late March, Cohealth will administer 1000 vaccines each week from four of its clinics in West Melbourne, Collingwood, Laverton and Footscray, focusing on engaging their clients who need the vaccine, but may struggle to access it due to language, literacy or other health barriers.

Cohealth medical officer in West Melbourne Kieran Kennedy said cohealth was helping vulnerable people in West Melbourne and surrounds including the elderly, those with disabilities and those with complex medical disabilities overcome cultural and language barriers in order to access the vaccine.

Although Dr Kennedy said the clinic had been a success so far, he said there were still a number of myths circulating in the community about the vaccine which needed to be dispelled.

“We’ve had lots of myths around including that if you have certain medical conditions, then you’re at greater risk of harm,” he said.

“That’s not the case – it’s really safe.

“We’ve had queries around blood clotting, and at the moment, the evidence is that people shouldn’t be concerned about the risk of blood clots.”

Ayan, a Cohealth health concierge and resident of the Collingwood public housing estate who speaks English and Somali, said many people she had spoken to had expressed their desire to get the vaccine.

“I think I’m relatable because I live and work there,” she said.

“It’s easier to talk to people you see regularly, whereas if they saw someone else, they didn’t know, they wouldn’t really want to speak to them. It’s more comfortable.”

Having just received the vaccine herself, Ayan told North West City News she was surprised by the “tiny” needle, as she had been expecting a painful, blood-test type experience. 

Dr Kennedy said the clinic had four operating rooms administering 250 vaccines per day, with the capacity to increase that number to 500. 

Cohealth is located at 98 Abbotsford St, West Melbourne.
Bookings can be made by calling 03 9448 5557 •