The Governor-General of Australia has gone into his local GP and been vaccinated with the Astra-Zeneca vaccine, manufactured in Melbourne.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
David Hurley was third in line at the morning session behind a sufferer from multiple sclerosis and a patient who had had a lung transplant.
General Hurley said it was important to support the roll-out of the vaccine.
He said the jab which was over in a moment didn't hurt. "Not at all," he said.
He is just short of 70, the qualifying age for the vaccination at the moment, but his GP, Dr John Howe, said that it was important that this particular patient be vaccinated because he met so many people.
"He travels all over Australia and is exposed to all the people he meets," the GP said.
"A lot of school children visit Government House and are introduced to the Governor-General."
Dr Howe said he had felt no nervousness in plunging the needle into the arm of his VIP patient. He's been the GP to Government House for 14 years.
The display of being vaccinated in front of cameras was also part of the drive to make vaccination universally acceptable.
"It's about instilling a sense of confidence in the vaccination," Kylie Gibson, the business manager of the Fisher Family Practice, said.
First in line was Karin Holmes who qualified for the vaccine because she has multiple sclerosis.
She described herself as Patient Zero and was very cheerful about being vaccinated in her right arm by registered nurse Jen Porritt.
She may be the first person to get the Australian-manufactured version of the AstraZeneca vaccine. She is certainly among the first.
The vaccine was developed by the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company and the University of Oxford but some production is being done in Victoria.
The second in line at Fisher was Wal Jurkiewicz, a former lawyer in Canberra who has had a lung transplant.
"I support the vaccine very strongly. Everyone should do it," he said.
After the Governor-General came a couple who had been married for 51 years and who qualified on age grounds. Reg Johnson (77) and Carmen Johnson (75) didn't blink an eye.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
Steve Evans
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
