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Melbourne’s own take on K-pop debuted this weekend, and though it might not have taken the world by storm just yet, it was at least a hit with local kids.

Five-year-old Harrison Murdoch was vaccinated at a centre for vulnerable children, set up at the Sealife Aquarium, on Sunday.Credit:Luis Ascui

Nine pop-up vaccination centres for vulnerable and disadvantaged children – called K-pops – were opened at venues including the Melbourne Zoo, Scienceworks and Healesville Sanctuary on Saturday and Sunday.

The centres are distinct from the busier state-run children’s vaccination centres at major hospitals, where more than 100,000 children have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine since January 10.

Attendance at the K-pop sites is currently by invitation only, with vaccinations to no more than 100 per site over two days.

The sites’ nurses will administer doses to children including those in out of home care, with a disability or in contact with specialist services.

Five-year-old Harrison Murdoch visited the Sealife Aquarium on Sunday for his first jab, while his father Sam received a booster.

Harrison has level 2 autism and a love of sea creatures, his mother Stephanie said. The setting was perfect, as it is likely that he would have been distressed at a busy centre, with queues and many other potentially crying children, she said.

“It would have been really hard to get him into the centre to get an immunisation. He would have resisted, he would have been more afraid,” Stephanie said.

“To make it a positive experience we thought we’ll do it with the ocean animals because that’s what he tends to gravitate to.”

Harrison was so preoccupied with watching fish swim by in their enclosure that he didn’t even notice the needle go into his arm, Ms Murdoch said.

Eve, 5, was vaccinated at the Sealife Aquarium on Sunday.Credit:Luis Ascui

Single mother Mia was also eager to get her five-year-old daughter Eve vaccinated as soon as possible, “to keep her safe and our family safe”.

Eve was just eager to see the sharks.

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