Unvaccinated Tasmanian LGAs behind 50 per cent double dose mark
There are still many local government areas yet to hit a 50 per cent double vaccination target. See where they are across the state >>
Tasmania
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ABOUT 100,000 Tasmanians are still to receive a single dose of a Covid-19 vaccine as authorities push to address problems with literacy, access and hesitancy.
Acting Premier Jeremy Rockliff said 77.5 per cent of Tasmanians aged over 16 had received one dose and 60 per cent of the state was now fully vaccinated.
>> LIST: Tassie suburbs leading the race to be vaccinated?
Acting State Health Commander Dale Webster said the state would exceed the target of 90 per cent vaccination rates soon.
“I’d be very confident that we can get into the 90 per cent [range] as the premier has already said in previous conferences, we are aiming to do that by early December,” he said on Tuesday.
“As you’d expect when we’re getting up to the high 70s, the bookings are tailing off but we still have a lot of appointments and we’ll continue to put the appointments in the book to make sure that every Tasmania … can actually get a booking.”
According to the latest Australian Government’s Operation Covid Shield report, 79.6 per cent of Aussies over the age of 16 have had at least one dose, and 56.9 per cent are fully vaccinated.
But there are still more than 120 local government areas that are yet to reach the 50 per cent full vaccination rate.
In Tasmania, there are still half a dozen council areas failing to hit the mark, with Kentish earning the title of the least double-dosed LGA at just 42.8% as of October 3.
Kentish residents are also the furthest behind on their first dose — just 63.2% having received dose 1 compared to our state average of 77.5%.
The second least jabbed LGA in the state is the Central Highlands, with just 44.8% of its residents fully vaccinated against Covid.
Southern Midlands and Devonport are still below halfway, sitting at 48% and 48.9% respectively.
And just a whisker away from the midway point is Brighton at 49.7% and Derwent Valley at 49.8%. The northwest town of Burnie finally hit a milestone with 50% of its 15,920 residents fully vaccinated as of October 3.
Flinders, Glamorgan/Spring Bay, King Island and West Coast LGAs are classified as ‘remote’ or ‘very remote’ and do not show on the official data.
Mr Webster said he was conscious that some people may have had trouble accessing information on the vaccination program because of literacy difficulties or because their first language was not English.
“That’s why we’re reaching out through community organisations who may be able to actually help people make the booking, or indeed in some of these small pop up clinics having walk-ins so people don’t have to go through the process of getting a booking.
“The second is some hesitancy. The early media back in April, May and June, probably didn’t help people’s confidence levels.
“The third thing is the accessibility issue, you know, not being able to get into a CBD clinic or in from a rural area, which is why it’s really important that as part of the process now is actually getting out to those areas and we’ve, we’ve had pop-up clinics in a number of areas from Sheffield to Risdon Vale just in the last two weeks.”
Originally published as Unvaccinated Tasmanian LGAs behind 50 per cent double dose mark
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