The best time to get it is now: ILSHD Director encourages Shoalhaven to get the jab

Over 3,000 people in the Shoalhaven were tested after various exposure sites were listed when a Melbourne family travelled through the region, later testing positive to the virus early June.

Luckily, no new cases of COVID-19 were recorded in NSW, but Mr Gregory said this does not mean we should slip back into complacency.

"It is very good that we didn't get any cases. And I think there's been a really good response locally down there as well, with people coming in and getting tested and monitoring for symptoms," he said.

"And everyone was very cooperative when we asked them to isolate, get tested and look after themselves.

"I think that week was probably a good reminder for people, making sure they're not getting complacent and making sure that they're still doing the stuff that kept us safe all through last year."

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While Mr Gregory said it was great locals were staying home and keeping their physical distance, he said the next step to ensuring protection against the virus was to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

"We're encouraging anyone who's eligible to not wait to go out and get the vaccine. That'll add another layer of protection both to themselves in the community and abroad," he said.

"And what the vaccines do, they prompt a trigger for your immune system. So it exposes your immune system to a fragment or a protein spike. And that means that it essentially trains your immune system. So when it encounters something like that, again, it has a much stronger response, because it's already essentially been primed."

For those apprehensive about vaccines in general, Mr Gregory said vaccines are a very effective way to keep communities safe.

"We know vaccinations are a really effective health protection measure," he said.

"And we've got a long history of that if you look at measles and small pox. Australia eradicated measles and small pox and we only have a little bit of polio, thanks to vaccines.

"We know that the population in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven have high vaccination rates, which is really good. We tend to be over the 95 per cent target rate for vaccines and vaccinations amongst our population, particularly children."

Mr Gregory said 80 per cent of the population needs to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity.

"We know generally that reaching herd immunity is having around 80 per cent or higher of the population vaccinated," he said.

"And that really then starts to protect those people who either can't get vaccinated because they may have a medical condition that prevents them from getting a vaccination or they may have an allergy."

You can check your eligibility for the vaccine here: https://covid-vaccine.healthdirect.gov.au/eligibility

You can book in for a vaccination appointment here: https://www.hotdoc.com.au/

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