TAMWORTH'S Gabby Taggart is 36-weeks pregnant, and as of Monday she is fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
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The 28-year-old wants other women to know Pfizer is completely safe during pregnancy, and hopes to be a voice of encouragement for those who may be hesitant to get vaccinated.
As an Aboriginal woman she was eligible to get her first dose of Pfizer at Tamworth Aboriginal Medical Service (TAMS) last month.
"I was on the waiting list at TAMS for not even 24-hours," she said.
"At that stage, I wasn't sure what vaccine, if any, I could have because I was pregnant. So I got in touch with my doctor at the hospital and they said Pfizer."
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation recommend that pregnant women be routinely offered the Pfizer vaccine at any stage of pregnancy.
But Ms Taggart believes not many women in her community know the health advice.
"Not many pregnant women out there know what to do, or whether it's safe for them, or if it will effect their bub," she said.
"NSW Health promote people in Sydney, but no one in our community knows that person, so they can't ask themselves."
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After receiving her first jab, she had minimal symptoms and she urged other women to "think of their babies future".
"I had a sore arm, but nothing that could stop me from looking after the rest of the family. I went and moved furniture, I was fine," she said.
As the region's vaccination rates steadily rise, TAMS has been key in getting those numbers up in the local Indigenous community.
On Saturday, TAMS administered about 250 second dose vaccinations, follow-up appointments for the 250 that got their first jab during a walk-in clinic at the centre on August 21.
The latest figures from NSW Health show 65.6 per cent of local residents in age groups eligible to get a vaccination have had their first shot and 34.8 per of those are fully vaccinated.
On Sunday, 253 people got an AstraZeneca jab at a drop-in hub at the Tamworth Sports Dome.
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