To date more than 12 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Australia.

As the national vaccine roll-out continues to expand, The Herald is encouraging readers to show their support for increased COVID-19 vaccination in our community.

Your free Vax-The-Nation poster features a striking illustration by Walkley Award-winning cartoonist David Pope, whose editorial cartoons appear in The Canberra Times and other newspapers published by Australian Community Media.

In June ACM, the publisher of this masthead, launched its national Vax-The-Nation campaign on the front pages of its 14 daily newspapers serving the national capital and key regional population centres across NSW, Victoria and Tasmania.

Readers were urged to roll up their sleeves and get with the program - the vaccination program - by booking in to get the jab.

Thursday's gloss poster, printed with the support of the Australian Government's Department of Health, urges Australians to arm themselves by booking their COVID-19 vaccination today.

The Newcastle Herald is asking readers to show their support for a safer, stronger Hunter community by displaying your Vax-The-Nation poster in the shopfront window of your business or on the noticeboard in the lunchroom at your workplace or in your front window at home.

Merewether Pharmacy is one of the local businesses taking up the cause by encouraging its customers, along with the wider Newcastle community, to roll up their sleeves for the coronavirus jab.

Pharmacy owner Fiona Evans said "it makes so much sense" for people to get vaccinated so that the community can get back to a pre-COVID normal.

"COVID has had such an impact on everybody's day-to-day life," Ms Evans said.

"A lot of people still don't want to come out.

"People want to go travelling again.

"I want to go overseas to see my family.

"It's important if we want to see any progress that people get vaccinated.

"So if you're over 18, get the vaccine!"

To find out if you are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccination head to australia.gov.au.

Use the vaccine eligiblity checker to see if you are eligible, when and where you can get the vaccination, and to book an appointment.

If you are aged 40 years or more you are currently eligible for vaccination.

If you are aged 16 to 39 years you may be eligible for vaccination.

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) recommends the COVID-19 Comirnaty (Pfizer) vaccine as the preferred vaccine for those aged 16 to 59 years, but the AstraZeneca vaccine can be provided to people aged 18 to 59 years of age.

If you are not yet eligible, and aged 18 years or over, you will have the option to be notified when you are.

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