AustLit

'On 27 January 1919, shortly before Victoria was quarantined due to outbreaks of ‘Spanish’ influenza in its population, the Geelong Advertiser reported a ‘rush for vaccine’ in Melbourne. At a vaccination centre at Melbourne Town Hall two days earlier, 140 people had been inoculated, but many were turned away, as there were not enough assistants available to administer the injections. Outside another centre, on the corner of Swanston and Collins streets, there had been a ‘deplorable crush around the door’ in which ‘women had to jostle with the men, one woman emerging from the room with her blouse disarranged and her dress presenting a crushed appearance’. Victorians today can perhaps sympathise with that unfortunate lady, both in her desire to receive a vaccine and in her possible sense of discombobulation in troubling times. While we wait for mass vaccination, both here and overseas, we are grateful to everyone involved in keeping Victorians as safe as possible, and we send sincere condolences to members of our community experiencing loss through the pandemic. (Editorial introduction)