An hour before Julian was due to have his first Pfizer vaccination at the Thomastown disability immunisation hub, he tripped and fell heavily, wounding his eyebrow. A cloth and band-aids staunched the bleeding. He was subdued but insistent that he would not go for the jab. Fair enough. His support worker brought him home, pale and shaking, where I set up Jurassic World Camp Crustaceous on Netflix to keep us from worrying while we waited for a doctor’s appointment. When the time came to go, the three of us kept each other happy on the trip and in the waiting room. He had the attention of the doctor and a nurse. Three stitches expertly done. Relief. He understood that his appointment for the shot in the arm would still happen but in many sleeps' time. Meanwhile, binge-watching Camp Crustaceous took care of waiting for the wound to heal.
A week later, he had no problems receiving his first Pfizer. The second appointment was something else. When he resisted coming into the Hub from his support worker’s car, she asked for help. Staff came to the car and patiently and kindly spoke with him. On the phone, I heard on the speaker how nicely they engaged with him and listened to his words. After a couple of conversations, he decided to go in with staff and his support worker and he was happy to have the vaccination. We are very satisfied with the specialist disability service provided by the Thomastown Vaccination Hub and how they helped Julian conquer his vaccine hesitancy. The hub is available for people with disability and their carers. This may include family members as well as support workers.
Venue: Aspen Medical
Location: 258 Settlement Road, Thomastown
Open: Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4pm
Bookings essential:
Individual appointments can be made by clicking on the following link: https://healthengine.com.au/book-covid-19-vaccination/85312
You must bring the following to the appointment:
A completed COVID-19 Vaccination Consent form, available at https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/covid-19-vaccination-consent-form-for-covid-19-vaccination
A completed copy of the attached form titled “COVID-19 VACCINATION eligibility declaration form”
Photo ID
Medicare Card
For all enquiries please email vicnorthvax@aspenmedical.com