Qld ‘bubble’ town where jab rates lag because ‘no one is worried’ about Covid

There have only been two cases of community transmission in this Queensland town and business has been booming throughout the pandemic. In fact, many locals say they are more fearful of the jab than the actual virus.

Rollerskating along the foreshore of Covid-free Gladstone, friends since childhood Melanie Hall and Tracey Rose agree it is time for Queensland to open up its borders and accept the risk of the coronavirus getting in – but one of them still won’t get the jab.

“We just haven’t really been affected by it … (so) the city has been slower to get vaccinated,” Ms Hall, a fully vaccinated hairdresser, said.

“We’ve had a case come out that hasn’t resulted in anything else.”

Tracey Rose and Melanie Hall skating in Gladstone. Picture: William Debois

The economy of the Central Queensland city, built on its port, heavy industry and an abundance of hi-vis and hard hats, has been largely insulated from the impacts of Covid.

Deni Hansen, owner of cafe Boy Espresso Bar, did not even realise the interstate ­borders were due to open in mid-December. Business is booming, thanks to local patronage and a steady stream of grey nomads reluctant to leave the state.

Opening the borders could bring more visitors, but Ms Hansen joked that she hoped this Christmas period would not be as busy as it was last year, when Queenslanders swamped their own back yard.

“We’re stuck in that little bubble, where no one’s really worried about it,” she said.

Owner of Boy Espresso Deni Hansen. Picture: William Debois

Queensland Health data shows there have been nine Covid-19 cases diagnosed in Gladstone through the pandemic – seven were acquired overseas and two were “locally-acquired” – though there has not been spread.

This shows in Gladstone’s Covid-19 vaccination rates, which are among the state’s lowest with 74.6 per cent of the local government area population having at least one dose so far and just 57.4 per cent fully protected.

The latest data shows 11 council areas in Queensland, of the 40 with data available, have surpassed the 80 per cent single-dose milestone – a number that remains unchanged from last week.

It was revealed last week that 8 per cent of staff at Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service, which extends from Gladstone to Biloela and Emerald, had failed to comply with Queensland Health’s vaccine mandate by deadline.

Gladstone Mayor Matt Burnett, who is at pains to ­remind people to get health advice from their GP and not social media, said people in Central Queensland had “mixed feelings” about whether they would get the jab.

“It’s almost like living in a bubble,” he said.

“We haven’t really had Covid here, so it’s not a thing like it is down south.”

Among those who won’t be getting the jab is mechanic and father-of-three Kevin McGuire, who is frustrated at what he said was “manipulative” messaging to urge people to be vaccinated against Covid.

“They’re telling you that you have to get it to protect your children, protect your grandparents because they’re the most in danger, yet in the same breath tell you that you can still catch Covid and still pass it through and kill them,” Mr McGuire said.

“Apparently the jab lowers the severity of (the virus) on yourself, so why the manipulation behind ‘protect your family’?”

Only 57.4 per cent of people in Gladstone have been double vaccinated.

Ms Rose, who works for a company supplying the mining industry, said she had heard of people quitting their jobs rather than meet the jab mandate for workers.

She doesn’t plan on getting the jab and is sceptical about incentives, which she calls “bribes”.

She said her son, a drone pilot working in the US, contracted Covid-19 and he barely had any symptoms.

“I’m not scared of Covid,” she said. “People that want to get vaccinated can, so it’s our call, our decision … why don’t they just open up the borders?”

At one of Gladstone’s state-run vaccine hubs, a woman walking in to get the jab declined to be interviewed as she knew too many anti-vaxxers.

Mum-to-be Jasmine Florence got her first jab. Picture: William Debois

Meanwhile, for expectant mum Jasmine Florence, getting her first jab was big decision and she was disappointed that people’s right to choose had been taken away, especially considering she is about to move to coronavirus-ravaged NSW, where it will be too hard to get around without proof of vaccination.

“I’m still worried (about the jab),” Ms Florence said.

“But I’ve got friends who are nurses and everyone’s recommending to do it and … I’m more scared to get Covid than what I am of the vaccine.

“If … (the vaccine) is as good as what they say then it might just be worth risking.”