Less than 1 per cent of Queenslanders with disabilities get jab

Less than 1 per cent of Queenslanders with disabilities – deemed to be at extreme risk of COVID-19 – have received the jab.

Less than 1 per cent of Queenslanders with disabilities – deemed at extreme risk from COVID-19 – have received the lifesaving jab.

The Commonwealth government assessed the state’s population living with disabilities and named 5400 people to go to the front of the queue for the vaccine in the 1a rollout phase but only 25 of these most vulnerable Queenslanders have been inoculated.

Forgotten thousands have been left isolating and unable to have visitors in lockdowns as they live in fear of dying from the virus.

Many have complex health comorbidities and have been ready to roll up their sleeves since March.

The shocking new data was released this week at The Royal Commission into Violence Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability.

The commission heard that Queenslanders are not the only Australians with disabilities who have been let down by the vaccine program. Only 4 per cent nationally have received their shot. WA has given 281 jabs, Victoria 158, ACT 111 jabs, NT 92, NSW 33, Tasmania 4, SA 3.

Gavin Imecs is still waiting for a COVID jab despite being in a high priority grouping. Picture: Liam Kidston

“We have been identified as a priority group by the Commonwealth government. We are seeing the consequences of this plan failing to be turned into action. To only have 25 Queenslanders with disability vaccinated in this priority group is a great concern. We advocated to make sure we were at the front of the line for the vaccine. We know that most of the residential aged care facilities that were also in the same priority 1a cohort are almost finished,” Queenslanders with Disability Network Board of Directors chair Des Ryan said. “We cannot continue to be pushed to the back of the queue.”

There are more than 250,000 Queenslanders living with a profound disability.

The disability advocates are in disbelief that the government has rolled out phase 2a this month while those on 1a have been left abandoned.

QDN chief executive Paige Armstrong has called for immediate action from the Commonwealth government and said she was worried some of these waiting Queenslanders could die if another wave of the killer virus hit.

A Department of Health spokesman said vaccination of people with disability and disability workers under Phase 1a remained a high priority.

“The vaccination of people with disability in residential settings is a complex logistic operation which has commenced with a small number of sites,” he said. “

This has provided the Government the opportunity to refine the delivery model for people with a disability in a residential setting to ensure it is appropriate.”

Brisbane man Gavin Imecs, 54, who suffers from Schizo-Affective Disorder, said he was desperate to get his vaccine.

“They’ve forgotten about us. I’ve been waiting months now. I think they don’t care about us,” Mr Imecs said.