Vaccine rollout boss looking at 80 per cent jab rate by November

He’s kept a relatively low profile up until now, but the Premier says the Queensland policeman tasked with getting 80 per cent of the population vaccinated by November is now taking the spotlight.

The state’s vaccine rollout boss is hopeful the Sunshine State can return to greater normality by Christmas as he insists there hasn’t been a reluctance by Queenslanders to get the jab.

In the wake of being thrust into the Covid-19 spotlight, Shane Chelepy told the Sunday Mail it was his aim for Queensland to hit the 80 per cent vaccination target by November, but couldn’t say whether greater normality meant the end of lockdowns and the reopening of borders.

The Acting Deputy Commissioner and vaccine operations co-ordinator said he was satisfied with Queensland’s vaccine uptake since starting the role in June and that he had not seen a reluctance in people to get the jab.

VACCINE COORDINATOR

New data released by the University of Melbourne last week revealed Queensland’s vaccine hesitancy is at the lowest it has been since October last year – sitting at about 25 per cent of the adult population.

This is down from 43.33 per cent in mid-May.

Asked what he thought about claims that chief health officer Jeannette Young’s messaging around AstraZeneca for young people had contributed to the state’s vaccine hesitancy, Mr Chelepy said he didn’t agree.

“We have not seen in Queensland a reluctance of people to be vaccinated,” he said.

“In fact, you know, every bit of supply we’re getting we are vaccinating.

“And I think personally, the approach Dr Young took saying it’s a personal choice, but you should have that discussion with your medical practitioner and make an informed decision, and I didn’t see those comments as affecting the vaccine rollout, and we rolled out the vaccine rollout in line with the ATAGI advice and Dr Young’s key in supporting us in that advice.”

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk this week declared Mr Chelepy may be as recognisable as Dr Young by the end of the pandemic.

“Queensland Police Deputy Commissioner Shane Chelepy has been Queensland’s vaccine co-ordinator since June,” she said.

“He’s got a big task to do and by the end of the pandemic, there’s every chance he will be as recognisable as Dr Jeannette Young.”

Mr Chelepy started fronting the state government’s almost daily press conferences this week, with the Premier saying as more vaccines arrived, his work would become more important.

Queenslanders are now rolling up their sleeves at a new vaccination hub at the Brisbane Exhibition and Convention Centre at South Brisbane. Picture: Mark Cranitch.

Asked why it was important to become as recognisable as Dr Young, Mr Chelepy said it was important to give the community confidence in the vaccine program.

“I’m not here to speak to the community about the clinical or medical side of the vaccine, but what I’m here to do is give trust in the community that the vaccine rollout is ready to go, that we are accelerating it in line with the amount of supply we’ve got, and that we’re listening to the community,” he said.

Pressed on whether it was possible to fully vaccinate 80 per cent of Queensland by November, Mr Chelepy said he was aiming for it but it would depend on supply.

He said “every bit” of Pfizer had been “put into the arms of Queenslanders”.

“Now with the AstraZeneca vaccine, I can say that we have administered AstraZeneca vaccine in Queensland in line with the ATAGI advice, so if there’s more vaccine provided to us, we can definitely increase and I know that we’ve got the system set up to be able to administer more vaccines than what we’re currently being provided,” he said.

He said he was confident that by Christmas authorities could start leveraging off the vaccine, alongside other measures including mask wearing, and that Queensland could get back to some sort of normality.

But he wouldn’t comment on whether this meant less lockdowns and reopening the border, saying that was out of his field.

Mr Chelepy said he expected to be in the role until Christmas.

“I do see that my job is to set up the system and make sure … effectively operating and I’ll do that through that peak vaccination period through to December and hopefully leave the system that set up to continue on with the new norm with booster shots,” he said.