Barwon Health’s COVID response team had a special visit last week from the face of Victoria’s vaccination efforts, COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar.
As one of his final tasks before moving on from the role, Mr Weimar visited Geelong to thank the hundreds of health staff that helped vaccinate, test and support people in the Barwon region.
“Every test, every vaccination, every contact trace has been delivered thanks to real people on the ground in health services across the state,” Mr Weimar said.
“Our health workers right across the whole service, in wards, and in our testing and vaccination hubs, have worked for two years to help keep Victorian’s safe.
“Restrictions have eased, and I really wanted to take the time to personally thank every worker who has been our frontline of response to COVID-19.”
“The Barwon South West region has powered ahead with vaccinations with more than 1.071 million doses delivered across the region over the past year in vaccination centres, GPs and pharmacies. This has been an exceptional effort by staff and residents in the region. We are now seeing the impact of what vaccinations are doing to keep hospitalisations down, even as cases rise.”
Barwon South West Public Health Unit director Professor Eugene Athan said it was also a great chance for the team to meet Mr Weimar and discuss the future of public health in the region, as well as the important role the Public Health Unit has to play in the community’s health going forward.
“As the way we manage COVID changes, the priorities of the local public health units will also change,” Professor Athan said.
“There will always be emerging diseases or chronic health conditions to manage and our team will continue to support our community.
“It’s been a great opportunity to meet with Jeroen and discuss how our team will grow and develop to support the region’s public health needs into the future.”
