The regional city with the state’s highest COVID-19 vaccine uptake

More than half of adults in Bendigo have received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, making it the area with Victoria’s highest percentage of first doses.

New vaccination figures reveal 52.6 per cent of people in Bendigo have had one dose of vaccine.

Meanwhile, 25 per cent of adults in Bendigo are fully-vaccinated is 25 per cent, one per cent behind Geelong.

In Melbourne’s north-west, however, only a third of people have received a dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and just 15.6 per cent are fully-vaccinated.

Director of the Loddon Malley Public Health Unit, Dr Casey Nottage, says community outreach efforts are the key to the Bendigo region’s success.

“One example is our Karen community, and working with that community to make sure they’ve got information that resonates with them and providing a service in a safe and comfortable place for them to come and access that,” she told Neil Mitchell.

“We’ve been doing a lot of outreach work to get to places … we’re making sure we’re taking vaccines to where they need to be.”

Press PLAY below to hear more about how health authorities in Bendigo have encouraged vaccination