When Jahya David was offered the COVID-19 vaccination at her local bowls club, she made the choice with a “why not?”

The life-long Thursday Island local and Torres Health Indigenous Corporation Medical Receptionist had confidence that the COVID-19 vaccine was tested, effective and safe.

And she was right.

“When Queensland Health came up and they offered the vaccines for the first dose, I just thought, ‘why not?’” Ms David said.

“Every time I was in school, and the doctors would come in and they would offer us needles for anything, I just got it done.

“So, it’s like, why not?

“It’s free, it’s safe, it’ll protect me against COVID.”

When she sat down to get the jab, she found the vaccination process to be well run, professional, and friendly.

“They were all friendly and safe,” she said.

“It was a smooth process.

“They all guided everyone through cause it was pretty busy.

“But everyone managed to get through.

“It was a good process.”

Jahya also reported the most minimal of side-effects.

“I had no reactions, no side effects.

“The only thing was straight after the needle, it’s just a bit of a mosquito bite but it was only sore for that night, and I couldn’t sleep on it.

“But besides that, everything is good.”

Jahya is encouraging anyone who is unsure about getting vaccinated to roll up their sleeve on their non-dominant arm and get the jab for the sake of the community.

“I encourage you to get vaccinated, not only to keep yourself safe, but our community safe, our locals safe, our Elders and even our future generations.

“As we all know, the Torres Strait is pretty small, so we want to keep everyone safe.”

If you would like more information contact Torres Health or to book a vaccination appointment visit the Vaccine Clinic Finder.