Out of the gloom created by COVID-19 for the past 12 months come rays of hope not only from a health perspective, but also on the economic front.
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There is no denying the economic carnage from two border closures, firstly by the NSW government and then followed by Victoria, has been massive in Albury-Wodonga and other border communities, with the recent circuit-breaker lockdown a grim reminder of the hit to businesses.
Yesterday, came confirmation the former Coles supermarket in High Street, Wodonga will become the border's coronavirus vaccine hub with strong suggestions the site will also be home to a new public health unit for the North-East.
Albury Wodonga Health has leased the building for 12 months and later this month it's expected health workers and elderly residents will be getting their COVID-19 jabs from the site.
AWH staff will be among the first to receive the vaccine locally with an initial 150 doses administered in its first week of immunising beginning next week and a further 500 in the following week.
The full vaccination program being conducted by AWH is expected to be completed by spring before being made available to the wider community via doctors and pharmacists.
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Public health units are being established in regional Victoria after criticism the state's system was too city-centric.
"Given we've got a footprint here, it is central, it will be fitted out for medical use, certainly there's a good opportunity potentially for us to use this site long-term," AWH chief executive Michael Kalimnios said.
In a further boost, Chemist Warehouse is tipped to open in a revised down area of the building.
It was vacated by Coles in 2017 when a full line supermarket was opened in the nearby Mann Central shopping centre and remained empty since.
When Chemist Warehouse does open, the nearby co-owned Guardian Pharmacy in High Street will shuts its doors.
But the latest revelations are definite green shoots on a long road to recovery.
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