Cairns vaccination rate: Race for October 31 first Covid jab
Cairns is dancing on the edge of disaster with a drastic vaccination boost needed before a last-minute jab deadline hits in just 11 days.
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CAIRNS is dancing on the edge of disaster with a drastic vaccination boost needed before a last-minute jab deadline hits in just 11 days.
Covid complacency has been a fixture of the Far North for months but the army general overseeing the country’s vaccine rollout said a stark reckoning was on the way.
Thousands of NSW and Victorian travellers will rush into the region once borders reopen on December 17 – and that will mean coronavirus outbreaks.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has named the absolute cut-off date for residents to get their first Pfizer and Moderna shots as October 31.
National Covid Taskforce co-ordinator Lieutenant General John Frewen said there needed to be a strong push to get close to an 80 per cent vaccination rate.
“You shouldn’t even wait until October 31. The time to get vaccinated is now because it takes two to three weeks after the last jab for the full impact to take effect,” he said.
Lt Gen Frewen last week wrote to mayors of eight local government areas where vaccination rates were furthest off the pace.
He said Cairns Mayor Bob Manning immediately responded and there had already been a shift.
“Since I wrote, Cairns is up about 5 per cent on first doses (to 72 per cent) and 8 per cent on second doses (to 60 per cent),” he said.
“It’s heading in the right direction but it’s still a solid 10 per cent of where we want to be. That first dose is always the solid lead indicator, so you’ve got a really good shot at getting first doses up over 80 per cent in the next couple of weeks.”
Cairns’ proximity to Yarrabah was a key concern due to the increased risk associated with outbreaks in Indigenous communities.
Yarrabah Mayor Ross Andrews said the township was still struggling with vaccination hesitancy but a recent three-day doorknocking effort helped bump up numbers.
“Just over 200 people were vaccinated, so it was a success,” he said.
Yarrabah’s current official vaccination rate sits at 39.7 per cent first dose and 22.7 per cent second dose.
“They’re now doing 80 vaccinations a day. Prior to that they were lucky to get 80 a week,” Lt Gen Frewen said.
A pop-up vaccination clinic operated at the Cairns Pride Festival on Saturday, and similar facilities will run at the Yungaburra Folk Festival and Grass is Greener festival in Cairns this weekend.
Lt Gen Frewen said it was “crystal clear” that vaccinations worked.
“In the Victorian aged care outbreak last year, almost 700 people died very quickly,” he said.
“Despite outbreaks in Sydney and Melbourne this year we haven’t had any deaths in the aged care sector to any great extent.
“And everyone finding themselves in ICU or dying, virtually none of them are fully vaccinated.”
Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service Covid-19 vaccine program director Don Mackie said 156 people were vaccinated at pop-up Bunnings clinics at Smithfield and Atherton on Saturday.
“How quickly we achieve the targets set by the State Government depends on Far North Queenslanders,” he said.
“Those who are not yet vaccinated are running out of time.”
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Originally published as Cairns vaccination rate: Race for October 31 first Covid jab
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