Like so many other people under 40, I've been patiently following medical advice and waiting for the day that I'd be eligible for my Pfizer COVID vaccination.
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While the AstraZeneca vaccine has recently become available, sitting here in my quiet regional town, far from the cases and lockdowns of the city, I felt secure in my choice to wait.
But this week that has all changed. COVID-19 has made its way to our regional community.
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Throughout the whole pandemic, as a scientist I have felt quite useless.
I haven't been able to contribute to researching this virus, or creating vaccines, or new treatments for those who are sick.
But there is something I can do now - and that something is getting vaccinated.
People tell me that it's all happened too quickly, that anything made in such a rush can't be safe.
But I know that the fundamental research behind these vaccines has been going on for decades.
Back in the 1990s, while I was still in primary school, scientists were working on mRNA and its potential applications in medicine. It's not new science.
The rapid progress that we were able to make last year to have vaccines available now is not a product of rushing, but an example of what can happen when we pit almost all of the world's scientific resources against a problem.
People tell me that they're worried about the risk - they've heard that the AstraZeneca is causing blood clots and people are dying. It's true - there is a risk. But it is a tiny one.
We do a million other more risky things every day. Getting in a car? Taking a contraceptive pill or many other medications? Smoking? So much riskier.
And the risk of becoming extremely ill or dying from COVID, especially the delta strain? Much riskier than any vaccine.
I don't think people who are hesitant to get vaccinated are selfish, or idiots, or stupid, or whatever else people on Twitter want to say.
I believe that mostly they are worried, scared, and confused by the whole process and the conflicting information that's been coming from different sources.
Even with all my scientific knowledge and training, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't still a little nervous too.
But I'll be doing it anyway. Because it's the right thing to do - to protect myself, my family, and my community. And I hope you'll do it too.
Dr Mary McMillan is a senior lecturer at the School of Science and Technology, University of New England.
