More than 500 new cases of the virus were reported across the district on Monday, and the local death toll grew by one over the weekend as a man in his 80s passed away at Wagga Base Hospital, bringing the local death toll to 22 since July last year.

Amid the ongoing Omicron outbreak, the MLHD is urging those eligible to come forward for their COVID-19 booster dose, hosting a 'booster blitz' over the weekend.

Ray Godbier is part of the vaccination team at Wagga Base Hospital's vaccination hub and said that more than 348 vaccines were administered on Saturday, which was an "amazing number".

"It was a lot more than we'd anticipated that would come along, so we were very very pleased with the numbers that we had for the weekend," she said.

Ms Godbier said there appears to be a good uptake of boosters generally across the region.

"We would still like to be seeing more, but we've actually seen [that] it's being quite welcomed in particular with the recent surges we've had with COVID within the community," she said.

Ms Godbier said more opportunities to get the booster have been made available in recent weeks.

There are now more than 100 locations across the region offering booster doses, including the MLHD vaccination hubs in Wagga and Griffith, select pharmacies and GP clinics.

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Ms Godbier also said the shortening in wait times between the second primary dose and booster from four to three months may have also allowed more people to come forward for their booster, as there was "a bit of a slower uptake" with the initial vaccination rollout.

Her message to those eligible for the booster is that they should come forward as a matter of urgency to receive it.

"You're not becoming as unwell if you do contract COVID, the recovery time is much much quicker, people aren't getting as sick from it generally speaking, and it's also helping with our healthcare facilities as well," Ms Godbier said.

Along with the booster doses, Ms Godbier said there was a great turnout of children aged between five and 11 coming forward for their first dose of a COVID vaccine over the weekend.

She said it is important for parents and guardians to have their children vaccinated ahead of the return to school this week on January 28.

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