Geelong leading vaccination charge

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Geelong is leading the way for vaccinations, with the latest data showing the region had hit the 90 per cent double-dosed milestone on Monday.

The federal Department of Health revealed the Geelong region was the first in Victoria to have 90 per cent of its residents aged 15 and over fully vaccinated.

Greater Geelong was at 88.7 per cent fully vaccinated as of Monday, slightly ahead of Golden Plains at 87.6 per cent but behind the Surf Coast, which joined the Borough of Queenscliffe at more than 95 per cent fully vaccinated.

Barwon Health took to social media to say it was a significant achievement and thanked the community for rolling up its sleeves.

Geelong’s COVID-19 cases jumped on Thursday, with 26 new cases reported.

The number was double the 13 cases reported on Wednesday.

There were also two new cases on the Surf Coast.

As of Thursday there were 397 active cases in Greater Geelong, 23 in Surf Coast and two in Queenscliffe.

Postcode data showed the 3214 and 3215 postcodes, covering the northern suburbs, and the 3217, including Armstrong Creek and Mount Duneed, had the highest rates of infection.

Close to half of the region’s cases are young people under 19, with close to 30 schools and childcare centres now linked to outbreaks.

Across the state there were 1247 new cases reported on Thursday, following two consecutive days below 1000.

There were nine lives lost to COVID-19 on Wednesday.