Keeping up heart in the queue

By Rhonda Dredge

The population might have been taking a swipe at the government over the rollout of vaccines, but on the first day of lockdown down at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) they were trying to remain stoic.

There were long queues inside and outside this prime vaccination centre for the inner city with ushers in orange directing people to the right entrances.

People were converging from the east and the west and with waits of three hours many of the vaccinated were emerging with grumbles.

“It’s hopeless,” Paul from Richmond complained. “I waited three hours but one of the parliamentarians went straight through. You can’t have double standards.”

The parliamentarian in question was State opposition leader Michael O’Brien who swanned through with a full media entourage to get the jab on Friday morning.

For the first time, Pfizer vaccines were being made available for 40- to 50-year-olds and Mr O’Brien was among those who were swift to get down to the centre.

“We’ve been waiting for 55 minutes,” Kate from Newport said, who was standing in the queue for 40- to 50-year-olds with her partner Dan. “But we don’t mind. They’ve looked after us well, offering us water.”

Dan was less accepting of the rollout. “I would have had it earlier but for the machinations of the federal government who control vaccine access,” he said.

“If you look at the list of countries, the US with the change of government got 40 per cent vaccinated in five months.”

“I’m frustrated. There’s no question. There’s no Dolly Parton spruiking for it here.”

By contrast, the Royal Melbourne Hospital’s music therapy group was playing cheerful songs such as Stand by Me to the assembled crowds with the hope of distracting punters from their woes.

“It’s a lovely touch – a bit of Otis Redding while standing in the queue,” Dan said. “If they played Poison by Alice Cooper that might have been more appropriate.”

There is an assumption by authorities that Australians develop mental health issues when they stand in queues and that they need to be cheered up.

It might have been more helpful, however, if it was easier to get an appointment. By Friday it was difficult to get through on the government phone line with the earliest bookings two weeks hence.

“I was on hold for an hour on Wednesday when I tried to phone,” a woman with an auto-immune disease told Southbank News who had turned up with her mum for a booked appointment.

A man was turned away when he arrived after 1pm and was informed that walk-ups had been stopped for the day. “Pathetic,” he said.

People still had to queue even if they had made bookings but not everyone was complaining.

“There should be more support for the systems we have in place,” Jo said, who had travelled from the eastern suburbs and was yet to go through the ordeal. “I’m fed up with the accusations and blame culture.”

She said that allegations of wrong-doing were framed in questions put by the media.

“Why attack the only ship available in a storm? It’s not a job I would want.”

At the time of publishing, the state government had administered more than 650,000 vaccinations in Victoria. Only 2.2 per cent of the entire Australian population had been fully vaccinated •

Caption: The Royal Melbourne Hospital music therapy group calms frayed tempers at Jeff’s Shed during lockdown.