Hundreds, if not thousands, of families connected to Ballarat Clarendon College suddenly had their days upended after being strongly advised by the school to head home immediately.

For many, it served as an abrupt realisation that COVID was once again a problem we would have to deal with here in Ballarat.

Whether it amounts to anything further remains to be seen over the coming days.

But what can't be denied is that there is only one way to protect ourselves against such outbreaks and the inevitable lockdowns that usually accompany them.

We are all doing it tough right now in Victoria.

Enduring a fifth lockdown is a strain on us financially, emotionally, socially and physically, just to name a few.

However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but it involves us working together.

This weekend, The Courier published a story about the city's 'Battle for Ballarat'.

The catch cry is to become Victoria's first city to become fully vaccinated.

It's a bold play but one that is entirely in our hands.

Less than 10 per cent of Australia's population have received their second jab while about half of the United States, United Kingdom and Canada are fully vaccinated.

Australia's sluggish vaccine rollout certainly leaves a lot to be desired, but that's not to say we can't bind together as a city and do our utmost when the opportunity arises.

When increased supply of the vaccine does eventually arrive, it is crucial that as a city we stand up and ensure not one vial of the vaccine goes to waste.

If we do, we will go a long way towards returning to a life we once knew - a life where we weren't spending entire weekends locked in our own homes.

Just imagine if we could be crowned the most-vaccinated city in the state, if not Australia!

We can do it, Ballarat.

- Pat Nolan, deputy editor