Cairns vaccination campaign: Major sport team on board with council effort

A vaccination campaign led by a major sporting team is imminent as Cairns Regional Council ramps up its efforts following a fateful call from an Australian army boss.

A VACCINATION campaign led by a major sporting team is imminent as Cairns Regional Council ramps up its efforts following a fateful call from an Australian army boss.

Mayor Bob Manning vowed to increase the local government’s involvement in vaccine efforts after a recent conversation with National Covid Taskforce co-ordinator Lieutenant General John Frewen.

Now the council’s engagement executive manager Amy Turnbull has outlined exactly what is at play – including one big teaser.

“Following that discussion, I met with the National Covid Vaccine Taskforce assessment team,” she said.

A mystery campaign to ramp up vaccinations in Cairns is about to be unveiled. Picture: Tony McDonough

“Excitingly we will soon be announcing an initiative with a very high profile sporting team, but unfortunately the ink is yet to dry.”

The latest double-dose vaccination rate sits at 62.8 per cent for the Cairns local government area, and just 24.5 per cent for Yarrabah.

It means there is still plenty of slack for local authorities to pick up before interstate and international border controls lift.

“We’re working really closely with the Aboriginal health services in both Cairns and Yarrabah,” Ms Turnbull said.

Cairns Regional Council engagement executive manager Amy Turnbull.

“It’s critical that we assist the Yarrabah community as best we can to get their numbers up, so we are doing that.

“With those Aboriginal health services, we’re trying to understand where they need assistance and conveying those messages back to the federal task force to ensure they get all the resources that they need.”

The council has also deployed variable messaging road signs encouraging vaccinations across areas with the highest volume traffic.

Sherrie Bligh, 19, enjoys her free ice cream as she is vaccinated by nurse Susie Jarman at her Yarrabah home with two-year-old Cleo Costello looking on. Picture: Brian Cassey

A new youth-targeted social media campaign is also on the verge of launch.

“We’re hoping to roll that out in the next couple of days,” Ms Turnbull said.

“We’re contacting high-profile organisations and individuals, particularly in First Peoples’ communities, to help with quite a bit of content and resources so we can utilise those platforms to get as much leverage as we can.

Children line up for their free vaccination ice cream in Yarrabah. Picture: Brian Cassey

“And lastly we are shortly looking to, hopefully, roll out a workplace vaccine program similar to what we do with flu each year.”

Division 9 councillor Brett Olds took issue with road signs calling for residents to get vaccinated without saying they should first seek medical advice.

“I’m pretty pro-choice, personally,” he said.

Cr Manning was quick to squash the exchange.

“Let’s not make this a debate over the rights and wrongs of vaccination,” he said.

“We’re helping the state out and the federal government, at request.”

Follow @chriscalcino

Originally published as Cairns vaccination campaign: Major sport team on board with council effort