Vaccine Qld: First Nations communities may stay locked down

They’re especially vulnerable to coronavirus and their vaccination rate is sometimes years behind, so parts of this demographic may remain locked down.

Queensland’s Aboriginal communities are at risk of being exposed to an insurmountable Covid-19 threat when the rest of the state opens up, with vaccination rates in some areas trailing by years.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has said she wants to see an “even spread” of Covid-19 protection across the state, but an Indigenous health expert says vulnerable communities should be given the authority to lock themselves in when Queensland eventually opens up.

Federal Government Covid-19 vaccination data shows about 47 per cent of First Nations Queenslanders have had at least one dose, compared to 70.2 per cent of the wider population.

Indigenous infectious disease expert Professor James Ward, of UQ’s Poche Centre for Indigenous Health, said there factors including supply issues early in the rollout, ongoing chronic understaffing of Aboriginal health services and generational mistrust of the healthcare system were behind the slow take up.

“What we need to do at the same time as opening up is do everything we can to protect those communities from outbreaks and potential deaths,” Prof Ward said.

Rugby league legend Petero Civoniceva and Deadly Choices’ Taylah Airs promoting Covid-19 vaccinations at Yulu-Burri-Ba, Capalaba. Picture: Richard Walker

“And that might involve reinstating emergency legislation to close communities off to visitors, it may involve sending out rapid response outbreak teams.

“One thing we don’t want is for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to be bearing the brunt of hospitalisations, ICU admissions and potential death.”

The gap between the vaccination rates of First Nations people and the wider population varies across the state, with the widest rift occurring in Cairns according to the latest data.

In the Far North, two-thirds of over-15s had received at least one dose as of October 4, but the rate among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population was just one-third.

In the least protected areas, the Aboriginal communities of Yarrabah and Cherbourg, the heralded 80 per cent milestone won’t be reached until 2023 and 2024 if the take up remains glacial.

Even in inner-city Brisbane, where access to vaccine is ubiquitous, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander vaccination rates are 16 percentage points behind those of the wider population.

“There is a level of mistrust of the vaccine rollout… negative experiences with health care systems over a very long period of time, and it’s not only Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, but other culturally and linguistically diverse communities,” Prof Ward said.

There are areas that are bucking the trend. On Mornington Island, Mayor Kyle Yanner said about 90 per cent of the population had received the vaccine.

“They trained up our own (to administer the jab), people trust their own,” he said.

For Cr Yanner, the mystery is why authorities haven’t responded to the communities other chronic health woes with as much vigour.

Prof Ward warned there would be pockets of populations left behind, in local government areas and in populations traditionally marginalised, that will be left behind when Queensland does open up.

Taylah Airs, a program officer at Aboriginal health promotion initiative Deadly Choices, went out to get a Covid-19 jab as soon as she was allowed.

But while the choice was easy for her, her siblings needed some convincing.

“Some people in the community they are hesitant because they say the vaccine was made so quickly, how can we trust it,” Ms Airs said.

“I tell them these are health professionals (telling you to get the jab), you should trust them, and if you get it you have more freedom.

“It’s good to have it because it lowers that risk to get Covid-19, and you should get it while you can, you don’t want to get Covid-19 and regret not having the vaccination.”

Mornington Island Mayor Kyle Yanner

Originally published as Vaccine Qld: First Nations communities may stay locked down