Monday 22 February marked more than 390 days since Monash Health treated the first COVID-19 positive patient in Australia. We proudly became part of a pivotal moment in the country’s fight against the virus, with our phased vaccination rollout commencing at Monash Medical Centre.
Reflecting on the past year, Medical Director, Infection Prevention & Epidemiology, Professor Rhonda Stuart said, “I’m really proud to be getting this vaccine and starting the next chapter in our work against COVID-19. It’s a very proud moment.”
Rhonda was the first to get vaccinated at Monash Health’s vaccination hub alongside other prioritised frontline employees. Residential Aged Care Recipients at the Kingston Centre’s Eastwood Hostel were also some of the first to receive the vaccine, with resident Phil vaccinated just after 9.30am.
Thank you to the teams involved in setting up the vaccination hub. Your knowledge, hard work, and dedication made this possible. It is a milestone in our fight against COVID-19, and we encourage all employees to take a moment to reflect and congratulate themselves on the work we have done so far to get us to this point. While we all still need to remain vigilant as the vaccination rolls out, we have however taken a big step in the right direction.
We’ve recorded some exciting highlights in the day one image gallery below, and stay tuned in the coming days as we speak to some of our employees who share their feelings after receiving their first dose of the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine.
