Fears Yarrabah could be cut off if Covid vaccine rates don’t improve

A senior health official fears a Far North community could be locked down again if it does not get its vaccine rates rocketing ahead of the state reopening.

VULNERABLE communities like Yarrabah could be locked out of Queensland’s reopening with low vaccination leaving areas at risk of being cut off.

Gurriny Yealamucka Health Service chief executive officer Suzanne Andrews said while vaccination rates in Yarrabah are improving, they are not rising fast enough – and she’s worried the community could once again be placed under the Federal Government’s Biosecurity Act 2014.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has threatened regional areas with lockdowns if their vaccination rates leave them unprotected. During last year’s lockdown, a roadblock was set up on the route between Cairns and Yarrabah.

“It is a big concern that we could go into lockdown again,” she said.

Ms Andrews said if the state government decided that people were not going to protect themselves, then they would make the decision.

“The Premier and the chief health officer have said that if communities do not get their vaccination rates up they could go into lockdown,” she said.

“The first lockdown for Yarrabah for nearly three months in 2020 was very hard.

Police check those attempting to enter the indigenous community of Yarrabah south of Cairns during lockdown in 2020. Picture: Brian Cassey

She said the three-day lockdown in August was not as difficult but said the community needed to step up and get the jab.

As of October 25, Federal Health data indicated that 42.9 per cent of Yarrabah residents had received their first jab while only 24.5 per cent have been fully vaccinated.

“But some of the data reported for Yarrabah is not correct,” Ms Andrews said.

“As of last Friday we had our first vaccination rates at 47.2 per cent with double dose of 28 per cent.”

Yarrabah lags well behind Cairns in vaccination with first jab rate of 74.7 per cent and second of 62.8 per cent and the Cassowary Coast at 70.4 per cent and 50.5 per cent, respectively.

Ms Andrews said vaccine scaremongering was a massive problem they had to manage.

Gurriny Yealamucka Health Service chief executive officer Suzanne Andrews said while vaccination rates in Yarrabah are improving, they are not rising fast enough. Picture: Brian Cassey

“My team of health care workers are exhausted from dealing with misinformation about the vaccine,” she said.

Mulgrave MP Curtis Pitt said it was “very concerning” that First Nations vaccination numbers currently lagged regional centres such as Cairns.

But he was quick to praise the Gurriny Yealamucka Health Service which he said have “been amazing.”.

A Queensland Health spokesman refused to comment if a lockdown for Yarrabah was being discussed.

“Our best and only defence as a community is to be vaccinated,” the spokesman said.

“As always, we will do everything we can to limit the spread across Queensland.

“This includes protecting any vulnerable people from Covid-19, but you must also protect yourselves.”

The Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service recently partnered with the Gurriny Yealamucka Health Service to go door-to-door in Yarrabah to help boost community uptake of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Originally published as Fears Yarrabah could be cut off if Covid vaccine rates don’t improve