Indigenous Territorians to be inoculated as ‘a priority’ when COVID-19 vaccine rollout begins: Fyles

MOBILE freezers and dry ice could be used to transport coronavirus vaccines to the Territory’s remote indigenous communities

NT Health Minister Natasha Fyles has confirmed indigenous Territorians will be inoculated as a matter or priority when the coronavirus vaccine rollout begins. Picture: Grant Hindsley/AFP

MOBILE freezers and dry ice could be used to transport coronavirus vaccines to the Territory’s remote indigenous communities.

Health Minister Natasha Fyles has confirmed indigenous Territorians will be inoculated as a matter or priority when the vaccine rollout begins.

The first doses of the Pfizer vaccine are due to arrive in the NT late this month or early next month.

Health workers, aged care workers and residents, people with a disability and quarantine workers will be the first to receive the vaccine.

The first doses of the Pfizer vaccine are due to arrive in the NT late this month or early next month. Picture: Joel Saget/AFP

But Ms Fyles said indigenous Territorians in remote communities would be a priority when the vaccination program moves to the general population.

“Just the pure logistics of rolling out these vaccines in the Northern Territory, we’ve got the urban centres, which are a little easier and a bit more like the east coast for example, but some of these remote communities have very small numbers but they have people that have underlying chronic illness and so it is a priority for us to get them vaccinated,” she said.

Ms Fyles said the Territory was expecting to use both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines, although she said the AstraZeneca vaccine was yet to receive Therapeutic Goods Administration approval.

While the AstraZeneca vaccine can be stored between 2C and 8C, the Pfizer vaccine needs to be stored at -70C, presenting an extra challenge for its rollout in remote parts of the NT.

“With the vaccine and the fact it needs to be kept at that very cold temperature it is a challenge but it is something that we certainly can accommodate,” Ms Fyles said.

“We know that the commonwealth have identified those large freezers to store and have hubs but we’re working through could we use smaller, you know, using dry ice potentially to get these out to communities so that’s the detail we’re working through and we will announce that in the coming days and weeks that finer program of exactly where and when every Territorian will get vaccinated.”

Ms Fyles said the Government was also working through the challenge of ensuring people receive both doses of the vaccine, given the transient nature of many remote Territorians.

HOT NEW DEAL: Read everything for 28 days for just $1

“We have a high rate of vaccination in the Northern Territory but that’s scheduled vaccines when people go into clinics for appointments this is obviously something we haven’t dealt with before, having a vaccine that’s not on that standard schedule so we’re working through that detail to make sure that we don’t waste that opportunity by someone getting that first dose but not getting a follow up dose,” she said.