State Member for Shepparton Suzanna Sheed has called on the Victorian Department of Health to reopen a permanent vaccination clinic in the city to help fight Japanese Encephalitis Virus.
Ms Sheed said while mobile vaccination unit Jabba the Bus had been visiting locations around the Shepparton district to provide vaccination against JEV, reported wait times were between two and four hours.
“It is essential that a site be reopened, given the warnings we are all receiving about the risk of mosquito-borne viruses in our community — in particular the JEV virus,” Ms Sheed said.
“It may not be an outbreak at the moment, but the risk is high and the more people that are vaccinated in advance of any outbreak the better. We do not want to fall behind in preparation for any possible outbreak.”
She said reopening the former vaccination site at Tirana City Walk at 302-308 Wyndham St, Shepparton, would be ideal.
Ms Sheed also called on the department to ensure enough vaccine supplies were available and that consideration be given to extending the criteria for vaccination when sufficient vaccines were available.
“I am heartened there is no current reported outbreak of JEV, but I am aware the public health advice is to be vaccinated, and that there is serious concern about the risk of such an outbreak given the amount of floodwater still present around Shepparton,” Ms Sheed said.
“A permanent vaccination hub at Tirana City Walk will allow Jabba the Bus to visit our towns outside the Shepparton area, making the vaccine more widely available.”
Priority groups for free JEV vaccinations include people aged between 50 and 65 years and those employed in an occupation largely or totally outdoors.