ONE HUNDRED Indigenous people will receive a COVID jab on Thursday under a continued push to have Ballarat's First Nations peoples fully vaccinated by Christmas.
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Ballarat and District Aboriginal Cooperative is running the super clinic as part of it goal to step up COVID vaccination rates in the region.
The Courier understands about 80 per cent of people booked in for the super clinic drive are for first doses.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 and, according t Victoria's health department, are at greater risk of developing serious illness from the virus - particularly if they are aged 50-plus or have chronic health conditions.
Younger Indigenous peoples were included in the jab roll-out earlier due to the greater risk they could put elders and older family members at risk should they contract the virus. Pfizer vaccinations for children as young as 12 have been available at BADAC since mid-August.
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BADAC medical practice manager Paul Kochskamper told The Courier earlier this month vaccination rates for Indigenous peoples in the Grampians region had been promising but the push now was to reach young community members.
A Dreamtime-inspired story about the importance of getting vaccinated and protecting the community has been underway.
BADAC has also been planning t-shirts for people who are fully vaccinated. The t-shirts are an extension of wristbands which BADAC offers to vaccinated people with the words "immunity, community, unity; together we will be immune".
Mr Kochskamper said community elders had already made a good response to vaccinations, largely because they had been visiting BADAC's medical clinic for other health checks and more information.
More than half of all Ballarat residents, aged 16-plus, are fully jabbed, the latest federal health data shows.
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