Emails revive scandal over St Joseph’s College vaccine plan

A NSW health official made a ‘personal approach’ to secure Pfizer vaccines for 163 students at St Joseph’s College in Sydney.

St Joseph's College.

A NSW health official made a “personal approach” to secure vaccines for students at St Joseph’s College in Sydney, according to emails that appear to contradict the government’s public account of the controversy.

Emails obtained by The Australian under freedom of information laws show a NSW Health employee sought to vaccinate all seniors at the prestigious school before the end of term – not just the college’s Indigenous students.

In July, NSW Health apologised for allowing 163 students at the school access to Pfizer vaccines — ahead of priority groups — with Sydney Local Health District chief executive Teresa Anderson describing it as an “error”.

“It was agreed that the Aboriginal students would be vaccinated through the state health system at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital’s vaccination hub,” Dr Anderson said at the time. “Through an error, the wider group of boarders in Year 12 … were also vaccinated.”

But in one email, sent on July 6, the NSW Health employee wrote to NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant and said he had made a “personal approach” to Dr Anderson because he knew the “Joeys situation well”.

“Kerry, I am really sorry that this has blown up in this way. I want to personally apologise that this has blown up for you at this most hectic time,” the official, whose name was redacted, wrote.

“Distraught does not describe it. Knowing the Joeys situation well, I approached Teresa in early May on my own initiative to ask whether it would be possible to vaccinate the senior students at St Joseph’s College.

“It was a personal approach and not on behalf of the school.”

St Joseph’s is one of the country’s highest-profile schools, and counts among its alumni several prominent politicians, sportsmen and corporate figures.

The administration of the Pfizer vaccines to students who were not eligible for the doses created significant controversy when it became public in early July.

It was not only Dr Anderson who described it as an error. Dr Chant told reporters on July 7 that the students had received the vaccine due to “a misunderstanding, a miscommunication, a misstep”.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard also acknowledged the mistake, but told reporters to “move on”.

 

In the July 6 email to Dr Chant, the official wrote NSW Health recognised boarding schools were a high-risk transmission setting and St Joseph’s had a significant Indigenous population as well as many rural and remote students.

“The aim was to get year 12 done before the end of school term,” he wrote, adding that it was not achieved. “In the context of the whole vaccination program, this was a small and highly targeted vaccination effort with an incredibly sound population health basis.”

NSW Health deputy secretary Susan Pearce forwarded the apology to Dr Anderson at 5.08pm on July 6, writing: “FYI.” Minutes later, Dr Anderson responded to Ms Pearce: “I have just spoken to Kiel Harvey who was acting general manager at Concord and who was with (the clinician) when he rang me. Kiel’s recollection was the same as mine that it was just half a dozen Aboriginal students on scholarships from rural areas who were boarders.”

On Wednesday, Dr Anderson said SLHD had apologised in July after vaccinating the Year 12 boarders “in error” and said the Indigenous students would have been eligible under the commonwealth government’s criteria.

“A Sydney Local Health District clinician contacted the district on behalf of St Joseph’s College in Hunters Hill in relation to the vaccination of Aboriginal students from rural and remote areas boarding at the school,” she said.

“The clinician was concerned about the risks associated with these students returning to their communities with Covid-19.

“At the time of the request, Covid-19 was not present in the state’s vulnerable Aboriginal rural and remote communities and keeping Covid-19 out of these areas was considered paramount.”

In a draft media statement released to The Australian, SLHD said four Indigenous students had received the vaccination.

In response to questions from The Australian, St Joseph’s principal Ross Tarlinton said: “The college has no further comment to our statement dated 6 July 2021.”

In July, Mr Tarlinton said the school approached SLHD to vaccinate its Indigenous students.

In another email sent at 7.10pm on July 6, a NSW Health employee asks for information on the scandal to include in Dr Chant’s talking points for the Covid-19 update. “It’s not a statement to be issued, it’s just for when Kerry gets sprayed with questions about this tomorrow at the press conference,” the employee wrote.