Year 12 student 'activists' eager to get vaccinated before final exams, principal finds – from ABC News

Year 12 students, teachers and examiners across central Victoria now have priority access to coronavirus vaccinations before sitting VCE exams.

Bendigo Secondary School principal Dale Pearce said he was unsurprised about the willingness of teenagers to roll up their sleeves for the jab.

"Young people are activists. They want to get out there and help, doesn't matter whether it's climate change or this particular issue," he said.

"They've been sitting there for the past 18 months feeling relatively powerless to do anything about this and now they've got the opportunity to do something.

"I think they're grabbing that with both hands."

Bendigo Health has made 1,200 vaccination appointments available over the next two weeks.

Central Victorian vaccination sub-hubs in Mildura and Echuca will each receive 1,200 Pfizer doses per week under the state government blitz. 

Vaccination clinics in Castlemaine, Swan Hill, and Kyneton will also get 300 per week until September 19. 

Hesitancy in young people

University of Melbourne epidemiologist Professor Tony Blakely said the pros of the coronavirus vaccine in young people far outweighed the potential cons.

"We do know that the vaccines we have, particularly the Pfizer and Moderna varieties, have incredibly low serious side effects," Professor Blakely said.

"For young people there's a small risk of inflammation around the heart muscles, but it's very rare.

"This thing … is far more common if you get the virus than if you get the vaccine.

"Everything stacks up for the vaccine, for adolescents, as being something that has less side effects by a long shot compared to getting the virus itself."

Managing hesitancy

Professor Blakely said for teenagers coronavirus is not a serious illness, but the vaccine is still a safer option.

"If you're a child, or if you are 12 to 17 years old, and you get COVID you'll probably be tickity boo," he said.

"But there's still a reasonable chance you'll get quite sick and even a small chance you might end up in ICU.

"The vaccine is much safer than taking your chance with the virus.

"The greater proportion of the population — that's across all ages — we can get vaccinated, the more resilient our society is and the less likely we'll need lockdowns next year because the virus will have more trouble spreading."

The Victorian government priority vaccination program runs September 7-19.