I'm 25, here's why I got the AstraZeneca jab at Bendigo Health's Mass Vaccination Centre

Why? Because for me, the chance to return to a sense of normalcy far outweighs the small risks associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

I'm 25 years old, a journalist at the Bendigo Advertiser, in pretty good shape (if I do say so myself) with no major medical conditions.

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The main reported hesitancy around the AstraZeneca vaccine is the chance of getting and dying from Thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS).

But the chance of me getting this blood clot is less than one in a million - I actually have more chance of getting a blood clot from being on the contraceptive pill - a risk I wasn't even aware of until after I stopped taking it.

For me, getting vaccinated against coronavirus purely came down to selfish reasons - I want my pre-pandemic life back.

My best friend is a 24-year-old Melbourne-based nurse living and breathing the pandemic on the literal frontline as she's one of the many humans behind the face shields and scrubs testing symptomatic people at the showgrounds.

She is also now fully dosed with the AstraZeneca and alive to tell the tale.

She said it's been really frustrating to watch people's indecision around getting the AstraZeneca vaccine these past few months.

Many of our friends have posted on social media over the past 18 months about how much they want travel and go to music festivals again. But when our governments announced AstraZeneca would open up to young people, suddenly some began to stall.

I won't lie, I questioned what seemed like a hasty statement by our Prime Minister for everyone to go out and get vaccinated with AstraZeneca. But at the same time I was screaming, someone please, jab me!

So, I went to my GP and asked about the vaccine. My doctor said as soon as I could, I should.

The process to get vaccinated at Bendigo Health's Mollison Street Mass Vaccination Centre was easy. I registered my interest on Tuesday afternoon. By the evening I received an email to book in a time to get my vaccination.

All the staff at the centre were incredibly friendly and even helped with my minor childhood fear of injections (and to be honest, I barely even felt the vaccine).

Getting vaccinated against the coronavirus is far bigger than you or I. It's a race now, because otherwise we will see the crippling numbers of infections that hit the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Italy, NSW and even Victoria a measly 12 months ago.

For me, I want to see my parents and grandma in Moama again without having to jump through hoops to secure a border pass.

I want to see my baby nephew, sister and brother-in-law in Melbourne.

I definitely want to see my friends who are dotted around the country sooner rather than later.

And yes, I really do want to travel and go to music festivals again.

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To my best friend, who's still working on the frontline as her city's lockdown is extended, this one's for you.

I hope the rest of central Victoria rolls up their sleeves for their vaccine they are eligible for, and not only so we can stay in the top spot for the most vaccinations, we can also get back to a sense of normal.